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PUBLIC  WORKS. 


A    TREATISE 


ON 


SUBJECTS  OF   INTEREST 


MUNICIPAL     OFFICERS. 


BY 


ERNEST  McCULLOUGH 

H 
£ 


•v/;sr  KL>rr. 


ERNEST  MCCULLOUGH, 

CIVIL    ENGINEER. 

Consulting  Engineer  in  construction  and  im- 
provement of  roads,  and  general  municipal  improve- 
ments. Plans,  specifications  and  estimates  for  water 
supply,  sewerage  and  drainage.  Economical  devel- 
opment of  colon}'  and  town  sites,  and  suburban  resi- 
dence districts.  Topographical  surveys.  Parks, 
cemeteries  and  race  tracks  laid  out. 

Engineering  enterprises  examined  and  reported 
upon  for  investors. 

ROOM  79.  511  CALIFORNIA  ST., 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 


PUBLIC  WORKS. 


A  TREATISE 


ON 


SUBJECTS  OF  INTEREST 


TO 


The  price  of  this  work  is  twenty-five  cents  per 
copy.  Upon  receipt  of  four  cents  for  postage,  a  copy 
will  be  sent  free  to  Mayors,  Trustees,  Engineers  and 
Street  Superintendents  of  California  towns  and  cities, 
upon  application  to  the  author. 


i 


ERNEST  MCCULLOUGH, 

CIVIL    ENGINEER. 

Consulting  Engineer   in    construction   and  im- 
provement of  roads,  and  general  municipal  improve- 
jnents.     Plans,  specifications  and  estimates  for 


PUBLIC  WORKS. 


A  TREATISE 


ON 


SUBJECTS  OF  I 


OBJECTS    OF     INTEREST 


TO 


Municipal  Officers. 


BY 

ERNEST  McCULLOUGH,  C.  E. 

Member  of  tli,-  7Jv  hnical  Sod -{y  if  flu  Pacific  C\>asS, 


EDITION. 


1894 


I    B 


Copyrighted,  1894, 

BY 

ERNEST  McCui.i.oiu;n, 


MINTRl)    R\ 

TMK  COI-RIKK  PKKSH 


THIS     WORK 
A.  F  V  E  C  T  I  O  N  A  T  K  L V     I  >  E  1 )  I  C  A T  K 

— TO— 

MY     FATHER 


INDEX, 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

STREETS 7 

Grades — Cross  Sections — Widths — Materials — Cost. 

CHAPTER  II. 

HEALTH    AND   CLEANLINESS 14 

CHAPTER  III. 

DRAINAGE  AND  SEWERAGE 16 

Drainage — Sewerage — Plans — Sizes   of  Sewers — Materials  and  Con- 
nections— Ventilations — Grades — Specifications — Disposal — Cost. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

WATER    SUPPLY 25 

Sources — Uses — Sizes  of  Pipes — Cost — Ownership. 

CHAPTER  V. 

SURVEYS 31 

Resurveys — Working  Maps — Levels — General  Maps. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CONTRACTS  AND  WORK, 35 

Specifications — Contracts — Work. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PLANS, 38 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP 42 

CHAPTER  IX. 

BONDS,....  49 


riT.ii 


INDEX, 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

STREETS 7 

Grades — Cross  Sections — Widths — Materials — Cost. 

CHAPTER  II. 

HEALTH    AND   CLEANLINESS 14 

CHAPTER  III. 

DRAINAGE  AND  SEWERAGE 16 

Drainage — Sewerage — Plans — Sizes   of  Sewers — Materials  and  Con- 
nections— Ventilations — Grades — Specifications — Disposal — Cost. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

WATER    SUPPLY 25 

Sources — Uses — Sizes  of  Pipes — Cost — Ownership. 

CHAPTER  V. 

SURVEYS 31 

Resurveys — Working  Maps — Levels — General  Maps. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CONTRACTS  AND  WORK, 35 

Specifications— Contracts — Work. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PLANS, 38 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP 42 

CHAPTER  IX. 

BONDS,....  49 


PREFACE. 

The  following  articles  were  written  for  the  Trus- 
tees of  a  California  Town,  the  intention  being  to 
discuss  from  an  Engineer's  standpoint  the  various 
problems  with  which  the  Trustees  would  have  to  deal. 

As  the  subjects  of  Municipal  Ownership  and 
Bonds  are  economic  propositions  it  has  been  consid- 
ered that  there  is  nothing  amiss  in  an  Engineer  hav- 
ing his  say  about  them. 

In  the  belief  that  many  Municipal  Officers  would 
appreciate  the  work  the  articles  are  now  published. 
It  is  hoped  they  will  prove  useful  to  some. 

THE  AUTHOR. 
San  Francisco,  Cal.,  September,  1894. 


CHAPTER  I. 

STREETS. 


Grades. 


Among  the  several  reasons  why  streets  are  im- 
proved the  principal  one  seems  to  be  aesthetic. 
Everyone  admires  a  handsome  street  and  its  im- 
provement increases  the  value  of  abutting  property. 

In  establishing  grades  preliminary  to  improve- 
ment two  things  are  taken  into  consideration — drain- 
age and  traction. 

Surface  water  must  be  taken  care  of  in  regular 
channels  so  that  private  property  will  suffer  no  in- 
jury during  storms.  Any  slope  will  cause  water  to 
run,  but  the  least  grade  should  not  be  less  than  four 
inches  in  one  hundred  feet  if  possible. 

Although  water  will  run  down  any  slope,  some 
are  a  severe  tax  on  draught  animals  to  ascend,  there- 
fore street  grades  should  be  limited  between  the 
lightest  possible  for  efficient  drainage  and  the  steep- 
est a  team  with  loaded  wagon  can  ascend  with  ease. 
The  steepest  grade,  if  possible,  should  not  exceed 
five  feet  rise  in  one  hundred  feet. 

Grades  lighter  than  four  inches  in  one  hundred 
feet  or  steeper  than  five  feet  in  one  hundred  should 
be  adopted  only  after  most  careful  stud}'. 

Calling  the  load  a  horse  will  pull  on  a  level  100: 
Then  on  a  grade  of  i  in  100  a  horse  will  pull  90. 

u         u    u         u          u  u       it       u         u  u  u         o 

u         u    u         a          u        .      u       a       u         t<        ,     a          u 

U  (I      U  U  U  _         U          U          U  U  «  U 

u         u    u          u          u  u       it       u         a  tt  u 

O  * 


Grades  steeper  than  five  feet  in  one  hundred 
should  not  be  tolerated  on  a  business  street,  and 
grades  over  ten  feet  in  one  hundred  cannot  be  too 
strongly  condemned. 

Sometimes  the  fear  of  expense  compels  the  adop- 
tion of  steeper  grades  than  an  Engineer  would  recom- 
mend, but  which  are  satisfactory  to  owners  of  abutting 
property.  As  they  pay  the  bills,  of  course  it  is  use- 
less to  stir  up  a  quarrel  by  persistent  arguing,  there- 
fore they  have  their  way. 

If  the  street  is  a  main  traveled  one  and  the  steep 
grade  hurts  property  beyond,  the  Municipal  Officer 
must  remember  that  "the  greatest  good  to  the  great- 
est number"  is  a  good  motto. 

The  improvement  of  a  street  is  a  grievous  affair 
to  all  concerned,  and  when  such  a  piece  of  work  is 
finished  those  in  authority  are  devoutly  thankful. 

Until  a  regular  grade  is  established  each  man 
has  regarded  the  street  in  front  of  his  lot  as  so  much 
of  his  own  property,  and  it  is  hard  to  persuade  him 
that  the  Town  has  any  jurisdiction  over  it.  He  has 
sidewalked,  drained  and  paved  (?)  it  to  suit  himself, 
and  whether  above  or  below  the  general  level  is  con- 
fident that  his  portion  is  just  where  the  grade  should 
be.  The  Trustee  who  thinks  otherwise  has  an  enemy 
at  future  elections,  and  the  Engineer  is* given  to 
understand  that  he  is  a  meddler  and  an  ignoramus. 

"Cross  Sections. 

It  is  usual  to  so  improve  a  street  that  the  edge 
of  each  sidewalk  at  the  curb  line  shall  be  on  the  offi- 
cial'grade,  thus  giving  what  is  known  as  a  "level 
cross  section." 

For  drainage  the  sidewalks  slope  toward  the  gut- 
ters and  the  roadway  is  high  in  the  center.  The 
shaping,  or  crowning,  of  the  roadway  depends  upon 
its  width  and  the  material  it  is  paved  with.  A  smooth, 
impervious  pavement  does  not  require  much  crown- 
ing. 


—  9  — 

Sometimes  a  street  lias  to  be  so  shaped  that  one 
side  is  lower  than  the  other.  Where  the  difference 
in  elevation  is  great  it  is  for  the  reason  that  a  level 
street  from  property  line  to  property  line  is  very  ex- 
pensive, but  when  the  difference  does  not  exceed  one 
or  two  feet  it  is  usually  because  someone  has  a  fad  to 
indulge,  or  may  be  because  a  compromise  had  to  be 
arranged  to  suit  the  ideas  of  grade  entertained  by  the 
owners  on  each  side. 

The  shaping  of  a  sideling  street  is  a  problem  not 
always  satisfactorily  solved.  To  crown  it  in  the 
center  gives  one-half  the  roadway  too  slight  a  pitch 
and  the  other  too  much,  resulting  in  a  bad  appearing 
job;  while  to  give  the  street  a  straight  slope  from 
glitter  to  gutter  necessitates  the  passing  of  surface 
water  over  the  entire  street  surface,  a  practice  to  be 
avoided.  The  center  should  be  kept  as  dry  as  possi- 
ble, but  the  keeping  up  of  a  crown  on  a  sideling  street 
costs  more  than  on  a  level  one.  The  foregoing  ob- 
jections to  sideling  streets  apply  to  them  when  un- 
paved.  Paved  with  asphaltum,  brick  or  stone  blocks 
the  shape  can  be  made  to  suit  the  opinions  of  any- 
one. 

Some  towns  are  laid  out  on  hill  sides,  and  the 
streets  follow  the  contour  of  the  ground.  In  such 
cases  it  often  happens  that  one  side  of  the  street  is 
from  five  to  twenty  feet  higher  than  the  other.  To 
attempt  a  level  cross  section  or  anything  near  it,  in 
such  cases,  is  expensive  and  foolish.  It  is  far  better 
to  establish  three  grades,  one  for  the  roadway  and 
one  for  each  sidewalk.  Grassed  slopes  connect  the 
grades,  and  the  street  is  said  to  be  terraced.  The 
roadway  should  be  flat  across  and  slope  to  the  inner 
side  of  the  curves.  It  need  only  be  about  twenty 
feet  wide. 

These  side-hill  streets  are  generally  residence 
streets  and  should  be  improved  at  as  slight  cost  as 
possible  to  give  them  a  handsome  appearance.  All 
trees  which  it  is  possible  to  preserve  should  remain, 


—  10  — 

and  it  should  be  endeavored  to  make  the  hill  side 
look  like  a  park.  The  picturesque  and  beautiful 
should  be  maintained. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  if  possible  all  business 
streets  should  have  a  level,  or  nearly  level,  cross  sec- 
tion. 

There  are  no  set  rules  for  establishing  grades  or 
improving  streets.  The  streets  are  to  look  well,  are 
to  serve  as  drains  and  as  avenues  of  travel.  They 
are  to  be  improved  at  the  lowest  possible  cost  to  at- 
tain these  ends.  All  other  considerations  are  matters 
of  detail. 

Widths. 

The  width  of  a  street  is  from  property  line  to 
property  line.  The  street  consists  of  a  roadway  for 
vehicular  traffic  and  sidewalks  for  pedestrians.  It  is 
common  to  make  each  sidewalk  one-fifth  the  width 
of  the  street,  which  for  sixty  feet  will  give  two  twelve- 
foot  sidewalks  and  a  thirty- six  foot  roadway. 

This  rule  is  often  departed  from,  as  for  instance 
on  streets  where  retail  stores  abound  sidewalks  are 
wider  and  the  roadway  narrower  than  in  the  whole- 
sale district  where  wagons  are  plentiful  and  pedestri- 
ans move  at  a  rapid  pace,  for  in  the  one  show  windows 
are  the  attraction  and  in  the  other  business  reigns. 
In  some  portions  of  the  residence  district  where  there 
is  little  driving  except  for  pleasure,  the  roadway  is 
narrow  to  save  dust  and  expense  of  maintenance  and 
the  sidewalk  reservation  is  wide.  The  actual  side- 
walks here  are  oftentimes  mere  strips  of  stone  a  few 
feet  wide  with  borders  of  grass  between  them  and  the 
fence  and  curb. 

On  a  terraced  side-hill  street  the  sidewalk  is  nar- 
row, for  the  slopes  require  space,  and  the  roadway  as 
before  stated,  should  be  at  least  twenty  feet  wide. 

Materials. 

The  materials  for  paving  streets  and  making 
sidewalks  and  curbs  should  'be  chosen  by  a  majority 


— 11  — 

of  the  property  owners  affected,  trie  proper  officials  of 
course  being  responsible  for  quality. 

On  the  score  of  economy  the  most  common  pave- 
ment is  crushed  rock,  or  macadam,  for  streets. 

A  macadamized  road  well  made  is  very  satisfac- 
tory. The  roadway  should  first  be  excavated  about  a 
foot  below  grade  and  shaped  to  the  street  surface.  It 
should  then  be  sprinkled  and  well  rolled.  Upon  this 
should  be  placed  layers  of  stone  a  few  inches  thick  of 
varying  sizes,  the  coarser  layers  below  and  the  finer 
above  and  each  layer  sprinkled  and  rolled.  The  last 
layer  should  be  of  material  which  will  pass  through  a 
half  inch  screen. 

The  stone  used  should  be  of  good  quality  and 
tested  by  the  Town  Engineer  before  it  is  used.  The 
usual  test  is  one  known  as  the  u  rattler  "  test  where 
the  stone,  broken  into  regular  sized  pieces,  is  put  into 
a  box  mounted  on  axles.  The  box  is  closed  tightly 
and  revolved  for  a  period  of  tinie,  the  motion  causing 
the  stones  to  fall  about  in  the  box  and  against  each 
other.  The  difference  in  weight  of  the  whole  stones 
before  and  after  the  test  represents  the  loss  by  attri- 
tion and  gives  an  idea  of  the  wearing  powers  of  the 
stone  tested. 

Every  town  should  have  a  "rattler"  and  a  stone 
crusher  with  screens.  An  outfit  can  be  purchased 
for  less  than  $1,500.  The  crusher  should  be  located 
in  some  selected  quarry  and  can  be  kept  to  furnish 
repair  material  for  the  roads.  When  a  street  is  to 
be  macadamized  it  will  generally  be  found  cheaper  to 
furnish  rock  to  the  contractors  at  a  certain  price  per 
cubic  yard  and  let  them  furnish  labor  alone  than  to 
contract  for  everything. 

Macadam  roads  must  be  kept  up,  and  therefore 
plentiful  supplies  of  repair  material  should  be  kept, 
and  a  road  roller  is  a  necessity.  A  proper  horse 
roller  costs  from  $500  to  $1,000,  and  a  steam  roller 
from  $3,000  to  $7,000.  The  steam  roller  does  more 
and  better  work  for  the  same  money  than  a  horse 
roller. 


-J2 

When  the  town  desires  to  have  better  paved 
streets  there  are  many  materials  to  choose  from,  and 
dissensions  often  arise  before  the  choice  is  made. 

A  perfect  pavement  is  durable,  noiseless,  cleanly, 
healthy  and  cheap.  The  perfect  pavement  has  not 
yet  been  discovered,  but  asphaltum  and  bituminous 
rock  pavements  approach  it.  They  are  noiseless, 
cleanly,  healthy,  very  durable,  but  not  as  cheap  as 
some  others  in  first  cost. 

Wooden  pavements  are  not  to  be  commended. 
It  is  said  they  are  noiseless,  but  this  is  not  so  true  as 
of  asphalt.  The  first  cost  is  small,  but  they  are  not 
durable  or  cleanly.  The  spaces  between  the  blocks 
become  filled  with  excreta  and  filth  and  in  a  few  years 
they  become  so  rotten  as  to  endanger  the  health  of 
the  community.  .They  do  not  wear  smooth. 

Vitrified  bricks  cost  more  than  wood  and  make 
a  very  satisfactory  pavement,  but  there  is  difficulty 
in  getting  them  all  of  uniform  quality,  consequently 
they  do  not  wear  smoothly.  They  are  comparatively 
noiseless,  cleanly  and  fairly  durable,  but  having 
joints  are  not  perfectly  healthy. 

Granite  blocks  are  to  be  commended  for  only 
one  thing — durability.  They  are  very  noisy,  and  on 
account  of  the  joints  not  particularly  cleanly,  healthy 
or  smooth  surfaced.  The  cost  is  more  than  brick 
and  less  than  asphalt. 

Gutters  should  be  wide  and  built  of  granite 
blocks  laid  lengthwise  and  cemented  in  the  joints. 
As  horses  oftentimes  stand  for  hours  by  the  curbs 
the  gutters  should  be  hard,  to  stand  pawing  with 
iron-shod  hoofs,  and  should  be  impervious,  to  keep 
slops  and  urine  from  getting  to  the  soil  beneath. 
Gutters  on  macadamized  streets  are  generally  made 
of  stones  four  to  six  inches  square,  laid  by  hand  and 
the  spaces  between  filled  with  crushed  stone  and  sand. 

Curbs  should  be  of  stone,  but  oftentimes  it  is 
difficult  to  procure  it  of  suitable  quality,  so  iron  or 
concrete  is  used  instead.  The  top  of  the  curb  is  at 
official  grade.  Economy  oftentimes  justifies  the  use 


—  13  — 

of  wooden  curbs,  but  they  should  never  be  used  ex- 
cept on  macadamized  streets.  A  redwood  curb  3"x  15" 
or  4"  x  1 6"  will  last  a  long  time.  The  top  of  a  wooden 
curb  is  set  two  inches  below  grade,  and  the  sidewalk 
(of  two-inch  plank)  rests  on  and  is  spiked  to  it.  No 
one  would  think  of  putting  in  a  permanent  sidewalk 
and  a  wooden  curb. 

The  shaping  of  corners  presents  considerable 
variety,  but  the  most  handsome  corner  is  where  the 
two  curbs  join  in  a  curve  having  a  radius  equal  to 
the  width  of  the  sidewalk.  A  wooden  corner  of  this 
sort  is  best  made  by  driving  •  4"x4"  posts  on  a  curve 
four  inches  inside  the  curb  line  and  about  three  feet 
apart.  One  inch  planks  are  bent  around  and  spiked 
to  these  posts  in  four  layers,  making  a  laminated 
plank.  Plenty  of  nails  will  hold  them  in  place,  and 
the  finished  job  looks  well. 

Sidewalks  should  be  of  brick,  asphaltum  or  con- 
crete, preferably  the  last.  They  are  neat  and  clean. 
A  wooden  sidewalk  soon  becomes  filthy,  and  when  it 
begins  to  wear  presents  anything  but  a  neat  appear- 
ance. It  trips  the  pedestrian  in  Summer,  and  squirts 
muddy  water  on  him  in  Winter. 

During  the  present  year  (1894)  contracts  for 
street  work  in  San  Francisco  have  been  let  at  the  fol- 
lowing prices: 

Bituminous  rock  pavements  from  19  to  25  cents 
per  square  foot. 

Basalt  block  paving  from  16%  to  19  cents  per 
square  foot. 

Macadamizing  streets,  including  rock  gutters,  2 
to  4  cents  per  square  foot. 

Macadam  sidewalks  one  cent  per  square  foot. 

Cobble  paving  7^2  cents  per  square  foot. 

Granite  curb  per  lineal  foot  from  60  to  95  cents. 

Granite  crosswalks  per  lineal  foot  70  to  80  cents. 

Artificial  stone  sidewalks  per  square  foot  8  to  13 
cents. 

Bitumen  sidewalks  per  square  foot  7^  cents. 


—  14  — 

Plank  sidewalks  from  15  cents  to  90  cents  per 
front  foot,  varying  from  three  to  fifteen  feet  in  width. 

Redwood  curbs  9  and  10  cents  per  lineal  foot. 

Basalt  blocks  for  repairs  $32.25  per  thousand. 

Grading  per  cubic  yard  6  to  70  cents. 

The  cost  of  grading,  it  may  be  seen,  varies  be- 
tween wide  limits,  and  no  closer  estimate  can  be  given 
for  the  cost  as  so  much  depends  upon  the  quality  of 
material  and  depth  of  excavation. 

For  cheap  work  in  grading  and  shaping  streets 
there  is  nothing  which  can  equal  some  of  the  road 
graders  now  on  the  market. 


CHAPTER     II. 

HEALTH    AND   CLEANLINESS. 

It  is  not  enough  to  have  good  sanitary  laws,  but 
it  is  necessary  to  enforce  them. 

Within  a  municipality  there  should  not  be  per- 
mitted any  cesspools  or  privy  vaults,  but  if  such 
things  do  exist  they  should  be  perfectly  tight  that 
no  moisture  from  them  can  contaminate  the  sur- 
rounding earth. 

The  greatest  menace  to  health  in  any  closely 
settled  community  is  undrained  soil,  and  it  should  be 
looked  to  that  anything  tending  to  load  the  earth 
with  filth  and  noxious  wastes  be  not  allowed.  It  will 
be  difficult  to  underdrain  a  flat  lying  town  and  ex- 
pensive in  any  case,  so  here  "an  ounce  of  prevention 
is  worth  a  pound  of  cure." 

Not  only  cesspools  should  be  prohibited,  but 
piles  of  garbage,  manure,  old  rags,  boxes  etc.,  tend  to 
increase  dampness  and  breed  disease.  Refuse  should 
be  regularly  carted  away  and  destroyed.  These 


—  15  — 

things  permitted  to  accumulate  retain  moisture  for  a 
long  time  and  disease  germs  multiply,  the  surfaces 
become  dry  in  warm  weather,  and  as  alternate  wet- 
ting and  drying  promote  decay  the  surfaces  rot  and 
are  distributed  broadcast  in  the  form  of  dust  by  the 
winds.  Filth  breeds  disease  and  wind  and  water 
spread  it.  The  manure  pile  and  garbage  heaps  send 
poison  through  air  and  earth  in  frightful  quantities, 
and  only  wise  laws  well  enforced  can  prevent  it. 

There  is  a  vast  difference  between  sanitary  regu- 
lations and  sumptuary  legislation,  but  it  is  hard  to 
make  the  average  citizen  understand  it.  As  in  street 
improvements  any  fancied  infringement  of  his  rights 
is  warmly  resented,  the  Health  Officer  has  an  un- 
popular job. 

Alleys  and  lanes  should  be  regularly  cleaned 
and  all  paved  streets  swept  daily.  Storekeepers 
should  not  be  permitted  to  put  the  sweepings  of 
stores  and  sidewalks  in  the  gutters,  but  have  a  proper 
receptacle  to  receive  the  refuse  which  should  be  often 
emptied  and  cleaned. 

No  laws  can  prevent  people  using  well  water, 
but  in  a  thickly  populated  district  the  dangers  of 
possible  contamination  should  be  pointed  out  and  the 
difference  in  quality  of  water  obtained  from  wells 
in  a  sparsely  settled  district  and  a  thickly  populated 
town  explained. 

Well  water  is  good  when  no  sources  of  contami- 
nation are  near,  but  when  the  watershed  which  sup- 
plies it  has  to  receive  quantities  of  liquid  wastes  from 
habitations  it  is,  to  say  the  least,  carelessness  to 
drink  it. 

Some  people  imagine  that  the  water  percolating 
through  the  earth  is  purified  by  filtering,  but  it  is  a 
mistake.  Suspended  impurities  are  removed  by  fil- 
tering, but  whatever  is  in  solution  is  never  removed 
by  such  a  process.  For  instance  take  clay  and  mix 
it  with  water.  The  water  beeomes  turbid,  but  after 
standing  awhile  becomes  clear.  Filtering  will  render 
it  clear  sooner,  but  although  the  color  is  gone  it  does 


—  16  — 

not  argue  that  the  water  is  pure.  Mix  salt  with  the 
water  and  filter  it.  It  is  colorless  but  salt,  and  all 
the  filtering  possible  would  not  freshen  it.  So 
with  liquid  wastes  from  cesspools.  In  the  ground 
the  suspended  impurities  are  removed  and  the  water 
in  the  well  is  clear  and  beautiful,  but  the  poisons  in 
solution  are  still  there  and  may  cause  an  epidemic. 

Springs  are  but  another  form  of  wells  and  fit 
only  for  use  in  country  districts. 

The  water  supply  of  a  town  should  be  obtained 
from  an  undoubtedly  healthy  source  and  piped  to  the 
consumers. 


CHAPTER  III. 

DRAINAGE    AND    SEWERAGE. 

In  planning  a  sewerage  system  a  distinction  is 
now  made  between  Drainage  and  Sewerage ;  the  for- 
mer being  a  term  meaning  the  disposal  of  surface 
waters,  and  the  latter  a  term  providing  only  for 
liquid  household  wastes.  Solid  wastes  are  termed 
garbage. 

Drainage. 

Surface  waters  may  be  discharged  into  the  most 
convenient  water  courses.  A  great  portion  of  the 
rainfall  is  absorbed  as  it  falls,  but  as  a  town  be- 
comes more  closely  built  over  and  streets  are  paved, 
a  less  quantity  goes  that  way,  and  proper  conduits 
must  be  provided  for  it.  Broad,  deep  gutters  will 
carry  a  great  deal  of  water,  and  it  is  well  to  provide 
for  surface  water  by  gutters  as  far  as  possible,  divid- 
ing the  streams  frequently  and  guarding  against  their 
increasing  too  much  in  size.  When  the  flow  becomes 


so  great  as  to  threaten  the  ruin  of  the  street  it  is 
time  to  provide  an  underground  conduit  to  conduct 
the  water  to  the  wasting  place.  As  this  water  is 
comparatively  clean  it  may  be  discharged  wherever 
it  will  harm  no  property. 

This  is  the  whole  practice  in  the  treatment  of 
surface  water.  Provide  ways  for  its  escape  so  that 
no  washouts  can  occur,  and  keep  the  streams  as 
small  as  possible  by  spreading  or  dividing  the  flow. 

One  of  the  first  things  a  town  needs  is  a  system- 
atic plan  for  surface  drainage,  so  that  whenever  a 
culvert  or  gutter  is,  built  it  forms  part  of  a  system, 
and  will  not  need  to  be  torn  out  afterwards  or  be  en- 
larged. 

Sewerage. 

The  first  act  of  the  officials  of  a  newly  incorpor- 
ated town  should  be  the  preparation  of  plans  for  a 
sewerage  system. 

It  should  be  prepared  on  the  same  principle  that 
leads  a  man  to  have  plans  drawn  for  his  house  before 
letting  the  contract,  viz:  economy  and  common  sense. 

The  system  can  be  constructed  at  once  as  plan- 
ned, or  be  built  as  needed  one  block  at  a  time.  In  a 
growing  town  the  system  is  never  completed,  but  is 
continually  growing,  and  the  first  plans  take  into 
consideration  not  only  present  but  prospective  popu- 
lation. 

The  point  of  disposal  and  sizes  and  locations  of 
the  main  sewers  must  first  be  decided  upon,  and  lat- 
eral sewers  can  be  built  as  desired.  If  a  system  is 
not  early  planned  it  will  lead  to  great  confusion  and 
expense. 

Sewers  are  needed,  and  all  who  can  afford  it  have 
private  ones.  As  the  population  increases,  these  pri- 
vate drains  multiply  until  there  are  a  great  many 
foul  points  of  discharge  in  the  town,  and  the  people 
in  the  low  lying  districts  complain  of  the  foulness  of 
their  surroundings.  Malignant  diseases  break  out, 


—  18  — 

and  the  poorer  residents,  unable  to  provide  private 
sewerage,  petition  for  a  system.  Then  the  more  for- 
tunate and  wealthy  residents  are  heard  from.  Their 
sewers 'are  built  and  working  well,  no  disease  threat- 
ens them,  let  each  man  look  out  for  himself,  or  let 
them  work  on  the  good  old  Anglo-Saxon  plan  and 
stand  together  to  extend  the  sewers  farther.  These 
remarks  are  frequent  and  loud  and  oftentimes  prevail 
for  awhile,  until  an  epidemic  brings  the  people  to 
their  senses. 

But  when  the  system  is  planned  these  same  pri- 
vate owners,  many  of  them  wealthy  and  presumably 
intelligent  men,  do  their  best  to  prevent  the  building 
of  any  sewers  which  will  tend  to  render  theirs  use- 
less, and  oftentimes  lawsuits  are  necessary  to  compel 
them  to  connect  with  the  new  system.  It  is  not  to 
be  expected  that  sewers  built  to  serve  one  or  two 
dwellings  can  be  of  much  service  in  a  general  system. 
Therefore  to  design  a  system  a  topographical  map 
must  be  constructed,  the  sizes,  shapes  and  grades  of 
the  sewers  determined  upon,  and  if  any  private  sew- 
ers are  so  situated  as  to  be  useful  it  is  well,  but  if 
not,  they  should  be  discarded  at  once  and  connections 
made  with  the  public  sewers. 

All  this  means  worry  and  expense,  therefore  the 
system  should  be  started  before  the  private  sewer 
owners  are  strong  enough  to  act  against  the  public 
health  and  necssity. 

Sizes  of  Sewers. 

There  are  two  systems  of  sewerage — the  com- 
bined, which  provides  for  storm  water  and  sewage  in 
large  sewers,  and  the  separate,  which  provides  only 
for  sewerage  in  small  pipes. 

The  combined  system  is  planned  by  taking  into 
consideration  rainfall  and  drainage  area.  The  sew- 
age is  so  inconsiderable  an  item  that  often  it  is  not 
calculated.  The  smallest  sewers  are  twelve  inches 
in  diameter,  and  the  ordinary  sizes  must  be  large 


enough  to  permit  a  man  to  enter  them  for  cleaning. 
Catch  basins  are  provided  at  street  corners,  and  man- 
holes at  frequent  intervals  along  the  streets.  The 
combined  system  formerly  carried  the  sewage  and 
storm  water  together,  but  lately  there  is  a  tendencj^ 
to  place  pipes  to  carry  the  sewage  along  the  sides  of 
the  large  conduits,  and  leave  the  latter  for  storm 
water  alone. 

The  combined  system  is  used  in  large  cities,  and 
in  some  places  is  the  only  system  to  be  used,  as  the 
storm  water,  if  carried  along  the  street,  would  be  a 
river.  In  small  towns  where  the  storm  waters  are 
not  taken  far,  the  separate  system  is  best,  and  in  fact 
the  surface  water  is  needed  to  wash  the  streets,  for 
oftentimes  they  receive  no  other  cleansing. 

The  separate  system  is  planned  by  taking  into 
account  the  daily  water  supply,  as  the  discharge  from 
sinks,  baths,  closets,  etc.,  is  what  we  term  sewage. 
Pipes  in  the  separate  system  may  be  as  small  as  six 
inches  ;  the  largest  seldom  exceeds  thirty-six  inches. 
Manholes  and  catch  basins  are  dispensed  with,  though 
flush  tanks  are  common  to  both  systems. 

Arguments  over  the  two  methods  have  nearly 
ceased,  as  it  is  recognized  now  that  surface  water  un- 
mixed with  sewage  is  cheaply  and  readily  disposed 
of,  and  that  the  prime  motive  for  providing  a  sewer 
system  is  to  dispose  of  the  sewage.  It  has  often 
happened  that  an  unhealthy  town  has  had  sewer 
plans  made  which  took  into  account  the  disposal  of 
surface  water  also,  and  proved  so  expensive  that  they 
were  never  constructed. 

The  plans  were  called  for  because  the  sewage 
was  a  nuisance,  and  as  storm  waters  did  not  trouble 
them  there  was  no  necessity  for  providing  for  any- 
thing but  sewage.  However,  precedent  was  strong 
and  as  past  generations  used  water  courses  for  sew- 
ers, they  must  needs  use  sewers  for  water  courses. 

But  this  is  changed  now,  and  each  place  has  the 
system  best  suited  for  it. 

The  separate  system   costs  about  one-third  as 


—  20  — 

much  as  the  combined,  but  this  is  not  always  a  fair 
comparison,  as  localities  differ  so  much  in  require- 
ments and  facilities  for  disposal,  etc. 

The  sewers  should  be  of  such  a  size  that  they 
will  run  half  or  three-quarters  full.  There  will  then 
be  sufficient  current  to  keep  them  clear. 

A  sewer  larger  than  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
provide  for  sewage  has  a  tendency  to  fill  up.  The 
stream  has  not  velocity  enough  to  carry  all  the  solids 
in  it,  consequently  these  settle  to  the  bottom  and  the 
sewer  continually  fills  until  there  is  a  space  at  the 
top  just  large  enough  for  the  constant  flow.  When 
a  large  flow  comes  the  sewer  is  choked.  Then  the 
papers  talk  of  overflowed  cellars,  and  merchants  want 
damages. 

If  the  sewer  by  any  means  is  kept  open  the 
large,  empty  space  invites  accumulations  of  sewer 
gas.  Flushing  by  hose  is  of  doubtful  benefit  when 
the  sizes  of  the  sewer  and  hose  are  compared.  Pipes 
are  compared  by  their  sectional  area,  and  for  com- 
parison this  area  is  obtained  by  squaring  the  diame- 
ters. A  15-inch  pipe  contains  15x15=225  square 
inches.  To  flush  such  a  pipe  with  a  2^ -inch  hose 
is  equal  to  flushing  225  square  inches  with  a  2^x2^ 
— 6^-inch  stream. 

The  sewer  system  must  be  carefully  planned,  as 
it  is  a  scientific  affair  and  not  a  matter  of  guess  work 
or  haphazard  calculation. 

Materials  and  Connections. 

The  materials  must  be  of  the  very  best  quality, 
and  the  workmanship  first-class.  An  inspector,  com- 
petent of  course  and  not  a  politician,  should  be  con- 
stantly on  hand,  and  personally  watch  everything 
during  construction. 

The  depth  of  the  sewer  will  depend  upon  circum- 
stances. It  should  be  low  enough  to  drain  the  cellars 
of  houses  on  either  side  of  the  street.  On  side  hill 
streets  the  sewers  of  course  can  only  drain  the  houses 


—  21  — 

on  the  upper  side,  therefore  they  need  not  be  placed 
at  any  great  depth  below  the  street  surface.  In  frosty 
countries  they  must  be  deep  enough  to  prevent  dam- 
age by  frost,  and  where  frost  does  not  occur  they 
need  only  be  deep  enough  to  be  uninjured  by  traffic. 

The  house  connections  should  all  be  trapped  be- 
fore connecting  with  the  sewer,  and  no  connections 
should  be  made  with  the  sewer  for  at  least  thirty 
days  after  the  latter  is  completed.  This  gives  an  op- 
portunity for  all  settling  to  occur  which  will,  and  re- 
moves any  danger  of  cracked  joints. 

All  pipes  within  houses  should  be  of  iron,  and 
110  earthenware  pipes  should  be  permitted  above 
ground. 

Ventilation. 

The  temperature  of  sewers  seldom  falls  below 
6o°(Fahrenheit),  and  as  a  consequence  the  air  within 
has  a  tendency  to  seek  the  higher  levels.  There 
is  more  danger  from  sewer  gas  in  the  higher  portions 
of  the  town  than  in  the  lower,  as  the  natural  move- 
ment of  warm  air  within  is  assisted,  when  the  tem- 
perature falls,  by  the  colder  air,  and  is  forced  up. 

Trapping  the  house  connections  isolates  each 
house,  and  cuts  off  an  escape  of  sewer  gas  there. 
Ventilation  openings  should  be  provided  at  intervals, 
and  at  the  end  of  every  sewer  a  ventilating  pipe 
should  be  placed.  These  pipes  can  start  from  some 
house  connection  between  the  trap  and  sewer,  and 
extend  up  the  sides  of  the  house  above  the  roof.  Soil 
pipes  should  also  extend  to  the  roof  and  be  open  at 
the  top  for  ventilation  and  also  to  prevent  house  traps 
from  being  siphoned  as  they  discharge. 

Grade. 

Grade  is  everything  to  a  sewer.  Without  a 
proper  grade  a  sewer  is  a  costly  and  dangerous  thing. 

If  a  street  has  sufficient  grade  to  carry  surface 
water  well,  then  it  may  be  settled  that  the  grade  is 


—  22  — 

sufficient  for  a  sewer,  but  the  sewer  should  have  in- 
clination enough  to  produce  a  velocity  of  at  least 
three  feet  per  second  when  half  full,  for  the  smallest 
sewers. 

A  light  grade  produces  such  a  sluggish  current 
that  solid  matters  cannot  be  moved  and  so  remain  to 
clog  the  pipe,  while  a ,  steep  grade  is  apt  to  induce 
such  a  velocity  that  solid  matters  will  be  left  while 
the  water  goes  on.  Either  extreme  is  bad.  As  it  is 
not  always  possible  to  have  a  perfect  system  of  grades 
or  a  constant  flow  sufficient  to  keep  the  sewers  clear, 
it  is  necessary  for  efficiency  and  economy  to  have  a 
flush  tank  located  at  the  end  of  each  line  which  is 
liable  to  suffer. 

A  flush  tank  should  be  able  to  discharge  from 
50  to  150  gallons  of  water  in  less  than  one  minute 
into  a  sewer,  and  should  be  adjusted  to  discharge  once 
or  twice  a  day.  A  proper  system  of  flushing  will  re- 
quire a  quantity  of  water  not  exceeding  two  or  three 
per  cent,  of  the  total  supply  of  the  town.  Flush  tanks 
cost  from  $50  to  $80  each,  in  place. 

A  certain  width,  not  less  than  ten  feet,  in  the 
middle  of  the  street  should  be  reserved  for  sewers, 
and  no  water,  gas  or  other  conduits  permitted  there. 
The  sewers  depend  upon  grade,  the  others  do  not, 
and  therefore  should  give  way. 

Specifications. 

When  the  sewer  system  is  planned  proper  speci- 
fications should  be  written  for  the  work  and  every 
portion  constructed  should  conform  to  the  specifica- 
tions. The  specifications  should  not  only  cover  the 
work  in  the  streets,  but  should  apply  to  house  con- 
nections. Everybody  should  procure  a  permit  from 
the  Street  Superintendent  to  connect  with  the  sewer, 
and  the  job  must  be  inspected  by  that  official  or  the 
Engineer,  before  being  covered.  The  specifications 
should  prescribe  the  size  and  grade  of  the  soil  pipe, 
and  the  manner  of  connection,  all  house  connections 


—  23  — 

to  be  made  by  a  licensed  drain  layer,  and  care1essness 
or  incompetency  to  be  punished  by  the  revoking  [of 
the  license. 

Disposal. 

The  question  of  sewage  disposal  is  assuming 
great  importance  of  late  years,  and  as  the  country 
becomes  more  thickly  populated  the  pollution  of 
streams  will  be  looked  after  strictly.  It  is  not  right 
that  streams  from  which  perhaps  some  towns  derive 
their  water  supply,  should  be  used  to  carry  sewage 
away  from  towns  nearer  the  source,  as  epidemics  are 
liable  to  result,  and  the  people  near  the  mouth  of  a 
stream  hold  their  lives  and  health  subject  to  the  will 
of  those  above  them.  Neither  is  it  right  for  a  town 
to  endanger  its  own  health  by  discharging  sewage 
into  lakes  or  marshes  near  by. 

Sewage  is  to  be  gotten  rid  of  as  expeditiously  as 
possible,  and  towns  able  to  discharge  into  tidal  bays 
or  the  ocean  are  to  be  congratulated,  for  the  filth  is 
carried  to  sea  and  there  rendered  innocuous  by  dilu- 
tion. 

But  interior  towns  must  provide  some  system  of 
disposal  for  their  waste  matters,  and  future  sewerage 
plans  of  towns  will  take  into  consideration  this  fact. 
For  this  reason  the  separate  system  will  grow  in 
favor,  as  it  provides  a  minimum  quantity  of  sewage 
to  be  treated,  and  therefore  a  saving  of  expense. 

There  are  four  ways  of  disposing  of  sewage : 

ist.     Mechanical  separation. 

This  method  separates  the  solids  and  liquids, 
leaving  a  clear  effluent  to  be  discharged  into  the 
stream  or  lake.  Whether  this  effluent  is  harmless 
is  open  to  question. 

2d.     Chemical  precipitation. 

The  sewage  is  run  into  tanks,  and  a  chemical 
precipitant,  such  as  crude  sulphate  of  alumina,  is 
mixed  with  it.  All  solids  are  deposited,  and  a  clear, 
odorless  effluent  is  discharged. 


—  24  — 

In  both,  the  preceding  methods  there  is  a  ma- 
terial left,  known  as  u  slndge,"  which  nmst  be  gotten 
rid  of.  The  method  used  should  be  one  which  gives 
the  least  trouble  and  expense.  It  may  be  dried  in 
open  pits  and  sold  or  given  to  farmers  for  fertilizing. 
It  may  be  run  on  to  land  and  be  plowed  in,  or  simply 
left  to  dry.  It  may  be  dried  'and  burned  in  kilns. 

3d.     Broad  irrigation. 

The  sewage  is  run  on  to  land  for  irrigation.  The 
land  is  used  for  raising  fruits  and  vegetables,  and  can 
be  rented  for  such  purpose  by  the  municipality. 
Properly  planned  and  executed,  this  is  a  cheap  and 
efficient  method  of  disposal. 

4th .     Interm  it  lent  Jilt  ration . 

This  is  a  cheap  method  and  one  which  meets 
with  more  favor  than  irrigation.  The  principal  ob- 
jection to  broad  irrigation  comes  from  people  with 
squeamish  ideas,  who  object  to  eating  anything  which 
may  have  been  irrigated  by  sewage.  For  nitration 
a  small  piece  of  land  with  a  porous  soil  is  selected 
and  drained.  At  intervals  the  sewage  is  discharged 
on  the  land  and  allowed  to  percolate  through  the  soil. 
It  is  relieved  of  all  impurities  in  suspension  by  filter- 
ing, and  the  slow  movement  through  the  filtering  bed 
gives  time  for  thorough  purification  of  all  impurities 
in  solution  by  exposing  it  to  the  beneficial  influence 
of  oxygenizing  agencies. 

During  the  present  year  (1894)  prices  for  sewer 
work  in  San  Francisco  and  other  cities  in  this  State 
have  been  about  as  follows : 

Manholes  and  covers  complete  $25  to  $50. 

Cesspools  and  culverts  with  corner  complete  $100. 
6-inch  sewers  per  lineal  foot,  30  to       70  cents. 

8    "         "  "       "         "  40  "  $1.00     " 

10   "         "  "       "         "  60   "     1.50     " 

12   "         "          "       "         "  75  "     1.50     " 

14   "         "  "       "         "         $1.00  "     1.75      " 

16   "         "  "       "         "  1.25  "     2.00     " 

18   "         "  "       "         "  1.50  "     2.50      " 

20     "  "  "          "  "  1.75    "       3.00       " 


The  cost  of  sewer  laying  varies  with  the  depth 
of  sewer  and  quality  of  material  in  excavation,  and 
also  with  manufacturers'  discount.  The  latter  is 
sometimes  sixty  per  cent  from  price  list. 

Brick  sewers  cost  from  75  cents  to  $2.00  per  foot 
of  diameter  in  place.  Thus,  a  sewer  four  feet  in  di- 
ameter might  cost  from  $3.00  to  $8.00  per  lineal  footy 
depending  upon  specifications  and  depth. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

WATER   SUPPLY. 

That  a  good  water  supply  is  essential  to  the 
growth  of  a  town  goes  without  saying,  as  one  of  the 
first  questions  asked  by  possible  residents  or  manu- 
facturers is  in  regard  to  the  water  supply. 

A  man  thinking  of  establishing  a  business  in 
any  town  always  wants  one  where  good  water  works 
can  supply  him  with  water  for  manufacturing,  and 
protection  in  case  of  fire.  He  always  inquires  about 
a  sewer  system,  also,  to  dispose  of  wastes.  If  he  in- 
tends living  there  he  wants  good  water  for  drinking 
and  household  purposes,  and  a  sewer  system  to  pre- 
serve  his  health. 

Sources. 

The  sources  of  water  supply  must  be  carefully 
selected,  and  all  danger  of  pollution  should  be  guarded 
against. 

Artesian  wells  are  well  enough  when  no  other 
source  is  available,  but  it  is  seldom  that  a  well  can 
be  obtained  of  sufficient  volume  to  supply  even  a 
small  place.  A  town  considering  the  proposition  of 


—  26  — 

obtaining  water  from  artesian  wells  must  proceed 
slowly  and  carefully  in  order  that  after  the  hole  is 
bored  and  pipes  laid,  the  volume  of  water  to  depend 
upon  will  justify  the  expenditure  of  the  money  spent 
to  secure  it. 

It  is  not  safe  to  figure  on  less  than  30  gallons 
per  day  per  capita,  and  the  amount,  in  a  manufac- 
turing town,  may  reach  60  to  80  gallons  per  day  per 
capita.  Estimates  based  on  the  total  population. 

Driven  wells  are  a  good  source  of  supply,  if 
there  is  ample  watershed  and  the  sand  bed  from  which 
the  water  is  obtained  is  of  sufficient  body  to  supply 
the  water  as  rapidly  as  wanted.  The  sealing  of  the 
tubes  must  be  well  done  or  the  wells  will  be  a  con- 
stant worry  and  expense.  The  wells  may  open  into 
a  large  cistern  and  the  water  pumped  from  it,  or  the 
pumps  may  be  connected  directly  with  the  wells. 

This  is  perhaps  one  of  the  best  methods  for  sup- 
plying water,  but  necessitates  a  pumping  system.  As 
few  towns,  however,  are  so  situated  as  to  be  able  to 
have  a  perfect  gravity  supply,  this  can  be  no  draw- 
back. In  fact  a  town  with  mains  supplied  by  pumps 
is  in  a  good  position  as  regards  fire,  for  pressure  is 
wanted  for  fire  streams. 

Water  obtained  from  running  streams  must  be 
carefully  examined  for  pollution,  and  unless  perfectly 
pure  must  be  rejected,  or  before  use  be  subjected  to 
purifying  processes.  If  obtained  from  some  higher 
altitude  it  may  be  piped  to  the  town  and  stored  in 
reservoirs  for  use.  These  reservoirs  must  be  of  suf- 
ficient capacity  to  afford  the  requisite  storage  for  pe- 
riods of  drought,  if  necessary,  as  the  supply  from 
streams  is  variable. 

Lake  water,  unless  obtained  from  the  mountains 
above  dairy  ranches,  is  a  doubtful  source  of  supply. 

When  the  quantity  required  is  not  great,  the 
best  system  is  by  pumps  with  a  standpipe  or  tank 
with  a  capacity  for  about  twenty-four  hours'  supply. 
The  tank  furnishes  the  pressure,  except  in  case  of 
fire  when  it  is  better  to  disconnect  it  and  attach  the 


—  27  — 

pump  directly  to  the  supply  main.  Ordinarily  the 
pump  need  only  be  used  to  keep  the  tank  filled. 

With  a  town  of  over  3000  inhabitants  a  direct 
pumping  system  is  preferable,  with  several  stand 
pipes  in  different  parts  of  town,  if  it  is  very  hilly  or 
broken.  The  stand  pipes  will  be  supplied  by  the 
force  main,  and  each  will  supply  its  own  district. 

With  a  large  city  a  gravity  system  may  be 
cheaper  than  a  pumping  system,  but  it  will  require 
careful  planning  in  any  case. 

Uses. 

Water  is  needed  for  drinking,  manufacturing 
purposes,  laundries  and  baths,  street  sprinkling,  sew- 
er flushing,  irrigating,  fires,  etc.,  and  unless  it  can 
be  used  for  all  these  purposes  it  is  not  a  good  com- 
mercial water. 

It  may  be  all  right  for  cooking  and  drinking, 
and  unfit  for  the  manufacturer  or  laundry.  It  is 
hard  to  get  a  perfect  water  for  everyone,  but  it  can  be 
averaged  up  pretty  well  so  that  the  people  will  be 
satisfied. 

Where  the  supply  is  small  great  economy  must 
be  practiced ;  but  when  a  town  is  located  near  the 
sea,  salt  water  may  be  used  to  advatage  for  certain 
purposes,  and  thus  the  fresh  water  supply  can  go 
farther. 

Salt  water  is  excellent  for  flushing  water-closets 
and  for  bathing.  For  flushing  sewers  it  is  better 
than  fresh  water,  on  account  of  its  greater  specific 
gravity,  and  it  leaves  the  air  in  the  sewer  very  fresh 
and  clear. 

For  sprinkling  streets,  in  English  cities  where 
it  has  been  extensively  used,  it  is  highly  esteemed. 
One  round  of  a  watering  cart  seems  to  do  as  much 
good  as  three  rounds  with  fresh  water,  and  on  ac- 
count of  its  hygrometric  properties  it  serves  to  keep 
the  air  cool  and  the  ground  moist  a  long  time. 

For  extinguishing  fires  it  is  of  doubtful  benefit, 


—  28—- 

as  the  building,  if  well  soaked,  will  never  dry  out 
sufficiently  to  be  a  healthy  habitation. 

Sizes  of  Pipes. 

Whether  the  town  owns  the  water  works,  or  the 
water  works  company  owns  the  town,  there  should 
be  certain  regulations  regarding  sizes  of  pipe.  It  is 
more  economical  to  buy  large  pipes  and  have  plenty 
of  hydrants  than  to  buy  fire  hose. 

All  street  mains  should  be  at  least  six  inches  in 
diameter,  as  the  demand  for  water  increases  in  a  far 
greater  degree  than  the  population.  The  cost  of 
water-pipe  increases  rapidly  with  size,  but  not  in  pro- 
portion to  its  value.  In  a  growing  town  it  is  econo- 
my to  lay  large  pipes  at  first,  and  not  be  obliged  to 
change  every  little  while. 

Cast  iron  pipe  is  generally  in  lengths  of  twelve 
feet  from  the  mouth  of  one  bell  to  that  of  the  next 
when  in  place. 

Cast  iron  is  commonly  used,  but  as  compared 
with  wrought  iron  and  steel  it  may  be  said  that  the 
days  of  cast  iron  water  pipes  are  nearing  an  end. 
Cast  iron  pipes  represent  too  much  dead  weight  com- 
pared with  their  strength,  as  the  best  method  of  ob- 
taining long  service  before  destruction  by  rust  is  to 
make  them  thick.  It  is  very  hard  to  prevent  incrus- 
tation in  cast  iron  pipes,  and  being  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent brittle,  they  are  in  great  danger  of  breakage  from 
"water  ram." 

Wrought  iron  pipe  is  preferable,  in  that  it  pos- 
sesses greater  strength  in  proportion  to  its  weight 
than  cast  iron.  Being  "tough"  and  not  "brittle"  its 
elasticity  enables  it  to  stand  greater  shocks.  It  also 
retains  protective  preparations  longer,  and  is  not 
troubled  so  much  with  incrustation.  It  generally 
comes  in  longer  pieces  than  cast  iron,  and  therefore 
has  fewer  joints,  making  it  easier  and  cheaper  to  lay 
and  maintain. 


—  29  — 

Lock  joint,  seamless,  wrought  iron  pipe  is  supe- 
rior to  lap  and  riveted  pipe,  in  that  it  is  so  smooth 
inside  that  very  little  obstruction  is  met  with,  and  an 
even  flow  may  be  maintained. 

Cost. 

The  cost  of  a  gravity  system  can  only  be  esti- 
mated after  proper  surveys,  etc.  The  cost  per  gallon 
for  supply  can  be  calculated  by  adding  together  inter- 
est on  cost  of  construction,  taxes  on  plant,  cost  of 
renewal,  salaries,  wages,  etc.,  of  employes,  allowance 
for  accidents,  etc.,  and  dividing  by  number  of  gallons 
furnished. 

An  approximate  idea  of  the  cost  of  a  pumping 
system  can  be  more  easily  given.  The  cost  of  rais- 
ing one  million  gallons  one  hundred  feet  will  range 
from  seven  to  thirty  dollars. 

The  following  estimate  is  for  a  town  of  from  1000 
to  3500  inhabitants,  in  a  flat  country,  and  supplied 
by  pumping  from  wells  into  a  redwood  tank  on  a 
tower  seventy  feet  high. 

Although  6-inch  mains  should  be  the  smallest 
used,  still,  to  save  as  much  as  possible  on  first  cost, 
6-inch  mains  will  be  only  put  in  on  the  main  business 
street,  4-inch  mains  in  the  more  thickly  settled  resi- 
dence district,  and  3-inch  mains  farther  out. 

SUMMARY. 

Land  for  plant,  (say)                                    -  $  500  oo 

Two  lo-inch  wells,  1000  oo 

Two  duplex  steam  pumps,  900  oo 

Two  boilers,  complete,  600  oo 

Erection  of  pumps  and  boilers,  500  oo 

Buildings,  600  oo 
One  6o,ooo-gallon  redwood  tank  on  70- foot 

tower,  with  foundation,  2500  oo 

1800    feet  6"  pipe,  3  feet  deep,  I3S°  °° 

12000    "    4"     "                               -  6000  oo 

17000    "    3"     "«"---  6800  oo 


—  30  — 

Twenty  hydrants,  assorted  sizes,  550  oo 

Twenty-five  water  gates,  assorted  sizes,  -         200  oo 

Special  pieces,  200  oo 

Contingencies,  1300  oo 

Contractor's  profits,  2000  oo 

Total,     -  $25,000  oo 

This  plant  should  raise  15,000  gallons  per  hour 
into  the  tank,  so  that  four  hours'  pumping  will  fill  it, 
and  the  pumps  can  be  used  for  direct  pumping  in 
case  of  fire. 

The  outfit  is  in  duplicate  —  two  pumps  and  two 
boilers  —  so  that  the  town  will  not  be  helpless  should 
a  fire  break  out  at  a  time  when  one  pump  happens  to 
be  disabled. 

The  cost  of  operation  should  be  about  as  follows 
per  year : 

Interest  and  fixed  charges,  $2000  oo 

Renewals  and  depreciations,    -  1000  oo 

Extensions,  1000  oo 

Engineer  and  fireman,     -  1150  oo 

Fuel,  etc.,  •»  500  oo 

Total,  $5650  oo 

The  pumping  capacity  being  large  the  above 
system  will  serve  for  some  time. 

The  town  of  Hanford,  Cal.,  in  August,  1893,  was 
supplied  with  a  water  works  system  for  $20,000, 
bonds  being  voted  for  payment. 

The  population  is  about  3000  or  3500.  The 
town  site  is  comparatively  level,  and  the  pipes  are 
supplied  by  direct  pumping.  The  pump  cost  $1400, 
and  the  pipe  is  eight  inches,  six  inches,  five  inches, 
and  four  inches  in  diameter,  very  best  quality  of  lock 
joint  wrought  iron  pipe,  treated  inside  with  a  prepa- 
ration of  lead,  tin  and  nickel  to  prevent  corrosion. 
The  lengths  are  about  the  same  as  given  in  the  fore- 
going example.  A  fire  alarm  system  and  2000  feet 
of  fire  hose  was  included,  and  32  double-nozzle  hy- 
drants. No  tower  or  tank. 


—  31  — 

Probably  as  complete  data  can  be  obtained  from 
other  small  towns.  The  estimate  given  and  the  ex- 
ample shown  will  aid  in  determining  the  probable 
cost  of  a  water  supply  system  for  a  small  town. 

Ownership. 

There  should  be  no  franchises  given  for  a  water 
works  system  in  any  town  or  city,  but  each  should 
possess  their  own.  The  interests  of  the  people  will 
be  better  served  and  fire  protection  assured. 

To  establish  a  proper  sewer  system  and  enforce 
sanitary  regulations  which  call  for  the  consumption 
of  much  water,  without  also  owning  the  water  works, 
is  equivalent  to  stealing  from  the  people  the  profits 
earned  by  the  water  company.  If  the  town  owns  the 
water  works,  the  exact  cost  of  running  them,  as  fig- 
ured above,  can  be  ascertained  each  year,  and  the 
water  rates  fixed  on  that  basis. 

It  is  as  much  the  duty  of  the  municipality  to 
provide  pure  water  as  it  is  to  provide  sewers,  but 
when  considering  it  from  an  economical  standpoint 
it  is  assumed  that  politics  will  have  nothing  to  do  in 
the  administration.  Water  can  be  furnished  at  cost 
or  made  to  bring  a  revenue.  It  can  also  be  a  source 
of  expense. 


CHAPTER  V. 

SURVEYS. 


Many  of  our  towns  have  been  settled  so  long  that 
all  the  original  survey  stakes  have  disappeared,  and 
a  " happy  go  lucky"  way  of  establishing  fences  and 
erecting  buildings  has  crept  in,  with  the  result  that 


—  32  — 

it  is  almost  impossible  to  re-establish   the  original 
lines  with  any  certainty. 

The  longer  such  a  state  of  affairs  continues,  the 
worse  the  confusion,  and  the  prospects  of  costly  law- 
suits are  promising  at  some  future  time  when  land 
has  increased  in  value. 

Re-Surveys. 

When  the  need  of  some  proper  definition  of 
boundaries  is  realized,  and  a  re-survey  is  made,  it 
should  be  made  by  a  competent  Engineer,  and  should 
show  the  following  objects  when  platted: 

i  st.     All  fences  and  buildings  on  the  street  line. 

2d.  All  corners  of  lots  and  buildings  supposed 
to  mark  corners. 

3d.  All  original  corners,  stakes  and  monuments 
which  may  be  in  at  the  time. 

The  above  should  be  platted  on  a  scale  of  50  feet 
to  an  inch. 

All  original  deeds  and  descriptions  on  record 
should  be  platted  on  the  map,  and  corners  and  bound- 
aries adjusted  with  great  care.  It  is  a  risky  thing  to 
disturb  long  established  possessions,  and  only  the 
most  careful  and  conscientious  work  will  do.  It  is  a 
combination  of  legal  and  engineering  skill  to  do  such 
a  job  in  a  way  to  satisfy  the  majority  of  the  residents, 
and  the  longer  it  is  put  off  the  more  troublesome  it 
will  be.  The  name  of  Geodetical  Jurisprudence  has 
been  conferred  upon  this  part  of  an  Engineer's  duties, 
and  it  is  a  fit  one. 

The  map  should  be  platted  on  cloth-mounted 
paper,  on  sheets  of  about  24x36  inches,  and  when 
all  the  lines  have  been  adj  usted  and  the  work  officially 
accepted  these  sheets  should  be  well  bound  and  filed 
with  the  Clerk  as  a  part  of  the  Public  Records. 

Permanent  monuments  should  be  established  in 
various  parts  of  town,  and  well  located  so  that  no 
more  trouble  can  occur. 


—  33  — 
Working-  Maps. 

The  maps  of  the  boundary  surveys  are  to  be 
kept  in  case  of  future  trouble,  and  there  is  an  amount 
of  detail  which  will  be  of  no  use  on  an  official  map, 
therefore  the  town  should  have  an  official  map  after 
all  the  lines  have  been  adjusted. 

This  map  should  be  on  sheets  of  about  24x36 
inches,  and  should  show: 

i st.  All  street  and  lot  lines  as  re-established, 
with  courses  and  distances. 

2d.  All  monuments  established  to  preserve  the 
lines,  their  kind,  number  and  location. 

3d.  All  sewers,  water  and  gas  pipes,  their  length, 
sizes  and  material,  and  all  drains,  culverts,  etc. 

4th.  All  water  courses  and  streams  within  the 
town  limits,  their  size,  direction,  and  points  of  dis- 
charge. 

5th.  Contours  on  all  the  streets,  showing  the 
elevation  above  some  base,  or  plane  of  reference,  which 
has  been  adopted  as  city  base. 

The  data  for  these  working  maps  can  all  be  col- 
lected when  the  boundary  survey  is  made,  at  a  slight 
increase  in  cost.  A  complete  survey,  as  above,  will 
give  the  town  data  from  which  to  establish  grades, 
put  in  sewers,  and  in  fact  make  all  improvements. 
The  field  work  of  surveying  is  expensive^  and  can 
only  be  prosecuted  in  favorable  weather.  Office  work 
is  cheaper,  and  can  be  done  at  all  times.  It  is  econom- 
ical to  do  all  the  field  work  at  one  time,  and  have 
data  at  hand  so  that  when  the  cost  of  any  street  or 
sewer  work  is  wanted,  the  Engineer  can,  by  working 
awhile  in  his  office,  give  his  estimates.  Sometimes 
this  information  is  wanted  quickly,  and  bad  weather 
may  so  prolong  operations  that  the  cost  of  Engineer- 
ing services  on  a  job  will  be  out  of  all  proportion  to 
the  cost  of  the  work  itself. 

The  scale  of  this  map  should  be  one  hundred 
feet  to  an  inch. 


—  34  — 
Levels. 

A  plane  of  reference  should  be  selected  from 
which  to  figure  all  official  elevations  and  grades.  The 
mean  of  lower  low  tides  is  a  good  plane  of  reference, 
if  any  government  bench  marks  are  near  enough  to 
ascertain  it;  or  low  water  mark  in  the  stream  into 
which  the  sewer  outlet  discharges  may  be  taken.  The 
plane  of  reference  can  be  termed  zero,  and  elevations 
described  as  being  so  many  feet  above  or  below  it. 

Frequent  bench  marks  throughout  the  town,  re- 
ferring to  city  base,  should  be  established  so  that  long 
lines  of  levels  will  be  avoided  in  doing  any  work.  One 
or  more  of  these  benches  should  be  established  by 
ordinance,  the  rest  can  be  fixed  by  the  Town  Engi- 
neer for  his  own  convenience. 

Street  Extensions. 

All  subdivisions  of  land  within  the  town  limits 
should  be  subject  to  approval  of  the  Council  and  En- 
gineer before  the  streets  are  accepted.  The  Council 
can  prescribe  the  width  of  the  streets  and  the  maxi- 
mum grade.  The  plats  should  show  proper  connec- 
tion with  adjacent  city  monuments,  and  have  monu- 
ments at  each  corner.  The  elevation  of  all  corners 
referred  to  city  base  should  be  shown  in  red  ink.  At 
the  time  the  official  map  is  accepted  an  ordinance 
should  be  passed,  dealing  with  future  subdivisions, 
additions,  grades,  etc. 

General  Maps. 

For  the  purposes  of  street  assessments,  tax  col- 
lections, water  rates,  etc.,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  have  on 
hand  lithographed  maps  of  the  town  on  a  scale  of 
about  four  hundred  feet  to  an  inch.  These  maps  will 
show  only  street  and  property  lines  without  field  notes 
or  elevations.  They  should  be  on  sheets  about  one 
foot  square.  Several  pasted  together  will  make  one 


—  35  — 

full  map.  Citizens  wanting  maps  can  buy  them  from 
the  Clerk,  and  sometimes  enough  may  be  sold  to  pay 
for  the  printing.  In  any  case  they  will  be  extremely 
valuable  and  will  save  too  much  handling,  by  outsid- 
ers, of  the  more  full  and  complete  official  maps. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CONTRACTS   AND   WORK, 

Specifications. 

For  all  work  there  should  be  complete  specifica- 
tions, carefully  drawn,  and  nothing  should  be  done 
without  such  papers.  The  smallest  piece  of  work 
will  be  done  in  a  more  satisfactory  manner  when  both 
parties  have  plain  directions,  than  when  such  direc- 
tions are  wanting. 

Complete  specifications  are  plain  descriptions, 
with  drawings  if  necessary,  in  detail  of  the  work  to 
be  done,  and  should  form  a  part  of  the  contract,  which 
recites  the  circumstances  under  which  it  is  taken,  and 
the  rewards  and  punishments  for  its  faithful  or  non- 
faithful  execution.  The  specifications  should  be  drawn 
by  the  Engineer,  and  the  contract  drawn  by  the 
Attorney. 

Contracts. 

No  contracts  should  be  let  for  any  work  until 
an  estimate  of  cost  has  been  made  and  submitted 
with  the  specifications  and  plans. 

Estimates  of  cost  are  generally  given  to  assist 
in  determining  whether  or  not  the  work  should  be 
prosecuted,  and  when  it  is  decided  to  go  ahead  plans 


—  36  — 

and  specifications  are  called  for.  When  these  are 
complete  a  careful  estimate  of  the  cost  should  be 
made  and  left  in  a  sealed  envelope  with  the  Clerk ;  all 
bids  to  be  submitted  in  sealed  envelopes  and  not 
opened  until  the  proper  time.  The  exact  estimate  of 
cost  being  known  only  to  the  Engineer,  it  being  as- 
sumed he  is  honest,  goes  far  to  prevent  pooling. 

When  the  time  for  opening  the  bids  arrives,  the 
Engineer's  estimate  is  first  opened  and  the  lowest 
responsible  bidder  gets  the  contract,  provided,  in  the 
Engineer's  judgment,  he  can  do  it  at  the  figures  given. 
If  the  bids  are  all  far  above  the  estimated  cost,  it  re- 
mains for  the  Council  to  decide  whether  to  let  a  con- 
tract or  do  it  by  day's  work.  If  the  Engineer  is 
competent  and  they  have  confidence  in  him,  this  is 
perhaps  a  good  way  to  settle  it.  In  some  States y 
however,  the  law  reads  that  all  work  estimated  to  cost 
more  than  a  specified  sum  must  be  let  by  contract. 
By  dividing  the  work  into  sufficiently  small  sections 
the  law  is  sometimes  evaded,  but  strict  honesty  does 
not  justify  such  a  proceeding,  and  there  is  no  econ- 
omy in  it. 

When  the  contract  price  for  a  piece  of  work  ex- 
ceeds the  estimate,  then  it  is  far  better  to  do  a  less 
amount  of  work  than  to  try  to  save  money  by  alter- 
ing the  plans  and  specifications,  as  is  often  done. 
They  were  drawn  to  secure  first- class  work,  and  first- 
class  work  is  always  the  cheapest. 

Work. 

It  is  not  economical  for  the  municipality  to  fur- 
nish paving  or  sewer  material  and  contract  simply 
for  labor,  as  the  inspectors  are  apt  to  be  lenient  in 
passing  imperfect  material  in  order  to  save  loss.  The 
only  way  is  to  have  the  contractor  furnish  everything, 
and  have  it  rigidly  inspected  before  being  put  in 
place. 

An  exception  can  be  made  in  favor  of  macadam, 
as  the  town  should  own,  or  lease,  a  quarry  and  fur- 


—  37  — 

nish  macadam  at  cost  from  its  own  crusher  and  screens. 

There  are  many  men  with  teams,  who  should  be 
encouraged  to  bid  on  all  street  work,  and  if  the  town 
owns  road  rollers  and  sprinklers  they  can  be  rented 
to  these  small  contractors.  If  obliged  to  furnish  such 
tools  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to  compete  with 
large  firms. 

Therefore,  if  a  town  invests  in  rock  crushers^ 
road  rollers  and  sprinklers  the  roads  can  be  kept  in 
repair  cheaply,  and  they  will  be  the  means  of  keep- 
ing a  great  deal  of  money  at  home. 

It  is  often  stated  in  advertisements  for  bids,  that 
a  certain  number  of  hours  will  constitute  a  day's  la- 
bor. In  fact,  some  State  laws  require  it,  and  no  one 
can  take  exceptions  to  such  a  law,  which  is  drawn  in 
the  interests  of  humanity. 

When  contractors  are  notified  that  they  must 
pay  certain  wages  and  employ  local  workmen,  neither 
reason  nor  justice  can  endorse  that  action.  It  is  the 
demagogue  and  not  the  philanthropist  or  humanita- 
rian  who  inserts  such  a  provision.  Also,  when  it  is 
stated  that  a  certain  percentage  on  the  cost  in  favor 
of  local  contractors  will  be  given,  the  results  are  per- 
nicious. 

The  Officers  are  elected  to  do  the  best  for  the 
people  and  not  to  encourage  any  industries.  With 
wages  and  residence  of  workmen  they  have  nothing 
to  do.  The  work  must  be  done  as  reasonably  as 
possible,  and  the  people  must  get  the  most  for  their 
money.  To  encourage  home  labor  by  such  restric- 
tions on  the  contractors,  always  results  in  costly 
work  and  aids  in  pools.  The  workmen,  so  far  from 
feeling  grateful,  use  the  Council  as  a  lever  to  force 
open  the  treasury  doors,  and  the  contractors  find 
labor  scarce  and  very  independent  when  protected  by 
those  in  authority. 

It  is  well  to  encourage  home  industry,  but  such 
help  should  not  go  farther  than  the  renting  of  tools 
to  local  contractors  as  before  stated.  The  rent  to  be 
paid  for  their  use  can  be  ascertained  by  the  bidders 


—  38  — 

before  the  date  for  submitting  bids,  and  will  be  an 
item  of  cost  to  them. 

But  when  it  is  stated  that  "the  lowest  local  bid- 
der will  get  the  contract,  provided  his  bid  does  not 

exceed  by per  cent  the  lowest  outsider's  bid," 

the  taxpayer  has  a  right  to  rebel.  Such  provisions 
are  not  honest,  and  tend  to  the  formation  of  combines 
to  run  up  the  price  of  work. 

For  economical  work  there  must  be  good  speci- 
fications, honest  bidding  and  letting  of  contracts,  with 
competent  supervision,  and  severe  penalties  for  non- 
performance  and  shirking. 

Dry  nursing  of  local  labor  and  employment  of 
day's  labor  are  to  be  avoided. 


CHAPTER  VIL 

PLANS. 

When  plans  for  sewerage  or  water  supply  are 
desired  there  are  two  methods  only  which  can  be  con- 
sidered, one  of  which  must  be  adopted. 

The  first  method,  which  is  undoubtedly  the  best, 
is  to  select  a  competent  Engineer  and  have  him  pre- 
pare the  plans.  Pay  him  a  fair  price  for  his  workr 
and  give  him  every  facility  in  its  prosecution.  This 
is  a  proceeding  in  accordance  with  the  old  saying, 
"Every  man  to  his  trade." 

The  plans  when  completed  must  of  course  be 
presented  to  the  Council  and  accepted  or  rejected, 
but  not  passed  upon  as  by  experts.  The  Engineer 
is  the  man  whose  supposedly  superior  knowledge  of 
the  subject  the  board  are  to  rely  upon,  and  for  this 
reason  he  was  employed.  Any  criticism  of  technical 
or  scientific  features  of  his  work  are  out  of  place  if 


—  39  — 

his  selection  was  on  account  of  ability.  Questions  of 
expediency  alone  govern  the  selection  or  rejection  of 
his  plans.  They  may  be  too  high-priced,  or  perhaps 
do  not  suit  certain  local  conditions  to  the  satisfaction 
of  some.  The  changes  suggested  he  can  consider, 
and  if  practicable  the  plans  can  be  modified.  If  not 
practicable  he  should  then  be  prepared  to  defend  his 
ideas.  By  using  care  in  the  selection  of  an  Engi- 
neer, and  dealing  with  him  as  with  a  business  man, 
it  will  be  found  that  good  service  and  economy  may 
be  secured. 

The  great  objection  to  the  above  method  is  that 
in  practical  politics  there  is  a  mysterious  factor 
known  as  "pull."  This  pull  often  operates  disas- 
trously to  a  town's  best  interests,  when  it  is  proposed 
to  employ  competent  men  for  any  purpose.  In  the 
appointment  of  the  "expert,"  one  is  sometimes  called 
whose  assumption  of  the  claim  to  be  considered  such 
is  unwarranted.  He  is  employed  out  of  gratitude  for 
past  favors  received,  or  prospective  favors  to  be 
granted,  or  out  of  friendship  to  someone  of  authority 
in  local  affairs.  It  happens  that  once  in  awhile, 
when  intending  to  do  their  full  duty,  the  town  offi- 
cials unintentionally  fail  through  ignorance  of  what 
really  constitutes  a  competent  man  for  the  work  in 
hand. 

The  second  method  is  to  advertise  for  plans,  and 
offer  a  bonus  for  the  best  one  or  two. 

This  method  if  properly  followed  should  result 
well.  In  the  first  place  the  time  in  which  to  prepare 
the  plans  should  be  ample,  being  from  one  to  six 
months  according  to  the  importance  of  the  town.  One 
reason  for  giving  plenty  of  time  is  to  enable  compet- 
itors to  study  the  matter  carefully  and  not  compel 
them  to  rush  it  through.  Another  reason  is  that 
only  one  or  two  win,  therefore  a  number  must  work 
for  nothing.  By  giving  plenty  of  time  these  men 
can  give  their  spare  time  to  the  work  on  which  they 
take  chances  of  payment  and  lose  nothing  else.  First- 
class  men  being  generally  busy  time  counts,  and  if 


—  40  — 

compelled  to  drop  other  work  for  the  bare  chance  of 
winning  a  bonus  they  decline  to  enter  into  competi- 
tion, and  their  fellows  who  happen  to  be  doing  little 
reap  the  benefit.  By  giving  time  enough  to  prepare 
plans  the  town  stands  a  good  show  of  securing  them 
from  better  men. 

In  the  second  place  the  data  furnished  should  be 
full.  A  blue  print  of  the  town  should  be  furnished, 
with  all  the  official  elevations  marked  thereon.  Where 
grades  have  not  been  established,  contours  of  two  or 
three  feet  interval  should  be  drawn.  All  existing 
sewers  (if  a  sewer  system  is  desired)  or  pipes  (if  a 
water  supply  system)  should  be  shown,  with  their 
sizes,  material,  condition  and  elevations,  and  all  other 
data  which  will  be  useful.  A  printed  description  of 
the  place  and  all  information  regarding  it  which  will 
help  should  be  prepared. 

Thirdly,  the  advertisement  should  state  the  time 
plans  will  be  judged,  the  amount  of  work  desired,  the 
amount  of  prizes  and  their  number,  where  the  plans 
should  be  sent,  whether  they  will  be  judged  by  the 
Council  or  by  competent  Engineers,  and  provide  that 
all  competitors  should  mark  some  sign  or  symbol  on 
their  plans  and  reports,  and  deposit  a  sealed  envelope 
containing  their  name  and  address  with  the  Clerk  of 
the  Board,  the  sign  they  use  being  on  the  outside  of 
the  envelope.  This  will  aid  in  a  fair  selection,  for  if 
no  jobbery  is  indulged  in  all  plans  will  be  judged 
solely  on  their  merits,  and  none  of  the  authors  of  the 
plans  will  be  known  until  the  premiums  are  awarded, 
when  the  envelopes  are  opened.  The  unsuccessful 
competitors,  if  they  so  desire,  may  have  their  plans 
returned  without  mention  made  of  the  fact,  for  a  man 
suffers  some  loss  of  reputation  if  unsuccessful  in  such 
a  competition. 

There  are  several  reasons  why  the  selection  of 
the  best  plans  should  be  left  to  competent  Engineers, 
the  most  important  one  being  that  few  Engineers  of 
standing  and  ability  will  enter  plans  otherwise,  thus 
the  town  is  a  loser.     Sometimes   Engineers  of  un- 


—  41  — 

doubted  ability  will  present  plans  for  the  judgment 
of  the  Council,  but  it  is  generally  in  cases  where 
there  is  a  surety  of  honesty  and  fair  play,  or  through 
fear  that  some  mediocre  plans  may  be  adopted  and 
the  profession  injured.  There  are  other  reasons  of 
course,  some  of  them  hardly  creditable. 

The  plans  should  be  judged  by  Engineers  be- 
cause their  education  and  training  are  for  the  purpose 
of  fitting  them  for  such  work,  and  there  is  more  in  it 
than  the  ordinary  man  has  any  idea  of.  A  town  official, 
if  not  trained  in  such  special  work,  is  apt  to  judge 
plans  entirely  by  their  first  cost,  or  as  affecting  a  cer- 
tain locality. 

Take  a  sewer  53^ tern,  for  example.  It  is  a 
highly  scientific  and  complicated  affair,  and  there  are 
innumerable  details  about  it  which  can  only  be  prop- 
erly judged  by  one  who  is  a  specialist  in  such  mat- 
ters. The  business  man  is  not  supposed  to  know  why 
a  certain  sized  pipe  which  will  do  in  one  place  is  too 
small  for  another;  he  does  not  know  why,  in  several 
blocks  of  sewer,  each  increase  in  size  calls  for  a  cor- 
responding decrease  in  inclination;  he  does  not  know 
why  the  pipe  entering  a  manhole  should  discharge 
above  the  bottom  of  the  discharging  pipe,  if  of  a  dif- 
ferent diameter,  he  cannot  keep  up  with  the  times 
and  understand  the  utility  of  certain  devices  and  the 
worthlessness  of  others. 

Plans  may  be  called  for,  and  the  Council  pass 
judgment.  A  number  come  in,  and  the  authors  with 
them.  Each  presents  his  own  side  of  the  case  and 
the  officials  get  puzzled.  Finally  a  selection  is  made 
on  the  ground  of  cost  and  perhaps  when  too  late  it 
is  found  to  be  the  most  costly  of  the  lot.  Some  man 
presents  a  plan  costing  a  certain  amount,  which  he 
claims  will  drain  every  portion  of  the  city,  but  his 
estimates  cover  main  sewers  alone.  Another  with 
perhaps  a  far  cheaper  system  has  figured  the  cost  of 
every  foot  and  loses  on  account  of  it. 

With  Engineers  judging  the  plans  this  could 
not  occur  as  they  would  detect  at  once  anything  of 


—  42  — 

the  kind  and  render  a  report  accordingly.  Bad  prac- 
tice can  be  detected  and  mistakes  seen.  The  plan 
which  is  really  the  best  will  be  selected  and  the  peo- 
ple get  good  value  for  their  money. 

In  some  places  there  seems  to  be  a  dislike  to  con- 
sult Engineers  on  such  matters  and  notably  in  the 
Western  States.  To  examine  sewerage  plans  a  com- 
mittee of  plumbers,  architects  and  physicians  will  be 
appointed,  with  perhaps  a  contractor  or  two,  while  to 
examine  plans  for  water  supply,  stationary  engineers, 
machinists  and  contractors  are  favored.  The  much 
vaunted  "sense"  of  the  business  man  is  relied  upon, 
yet  this  same  business  man  calls  in  physicians  when 
ill,  lawyers  when  sued,  and  carpenters  to  build  his 
house.  To  employ  the  physician  or  lawyer  to  build 
his  house  and  consult  the  carpenter  when  ill  would 
be  extremely  bad  form  and  not  economical.  The  in- 
ferences are  obvious. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MUNICIPAL   OWNERSHIP. 

The  items  of  cost  in  any  enterprise  may  be  gen- 
erally stated 'as  follows: 

1.  Interest  on  investment. 

2.  Taxes  on  plant. 

3.  Extensions. 

4.  Renewals  and  maintenance. 

5.  Labor,  supplies,  etc. 

6.  Administration. 

7.  Profits. 

The  first  and  last  items  are  sometimes  so  closely 
connected  that  they  are  synonymous,  but  the  invest- 
ment then  is  not  gilt-edged  unless  the  stock  is 
watered 


—  43  — 

It  is  the  hope  of  profit  which  leads  men  to  organ- 
ize companies  to  supply  public  needs,  and  to  some 
economists  the  idea  of  saving  the  profits  to  the 
users  is  very  alluring.  Therefore  we  hear  munici- 
pal ownership  of  all  kinds  of  schemes  advocated. 

It  is  urged  that  under  public  control  the  only 
items  of  cost  are  as  follows : 

1.  Administration. 

2.  Labor,  supplies,  etc. 

3.  Renewals  and  maintenance. 

4.  Extensions. 

Profits,  taxes  and  interest  are  saved,  therefore 
the  consumer  gets  his  goods  at  bare  cost  or  perhaps 
a  small  profit  may  be  made  to  help  defray  the  cost 
of  other  non-productive  properties. 

It  is  a  well-established  fact  that  the  residents  of 
a  municipality  must  take  care  of  their  own  wastes 
as  there  is  no  profit  in  a  sewer  system  to  tempt  pri- 
vate enterprise.  The  only  return  from  a  perfect  sewer 
system  conies  from  the  safety  to  health  guaranteed 
by  its  presence  and  therefore  a  possible  increase  in 
prosperity  as  population  will  be  attracted.  The  efflu- 
ent from  the  disposal  works  may  bring  in  some  re- 
turn but  never  enough  to  be  profit  on  the  whole  sys- 
tem. Therefore,  if  the  people  want  good  sewers  they 
must  own  them. 

Sometimes  there  is  profit  in  garbage  and  com- 
panies are  organized  to  collect  it  and  sell  what  can  be 
saved.  There  is  always  much  left  for  the  municipal- 
ity to  take  care  of  even  after  these  private  scavengers 
get  through  so  the  profits  are  not  large  enough  to 
tempt  the  public. 

Water  is  an  absolute  necessity  and  private  com- 
panies often  make  large  profits.  For  health  and  fire 
protection  it  is  so  necessary  an  article  that  it  is  as 
much  a  thing  for  public  ownership  as  a  sewer  system. 
But  the  hope  of  saving  in  cost  should  not  wholly  in- 
fluence the  economist  as  the  fact  that  the  water  sup- 
ply is  under  complete  control  is  the  principal  factor 
in  settling  this  question.  Sometimes  municipal  own- 


—  44  — 

ership  is  so  expensive  a  luxury  that  although  taxes;., 
interest  and  profits  are  saved,  the  people  are  extremely 
liable  to  pay  more  for  their  water  than  the  private 
company  charges. 

The -reasons  are  simple.  In  a  private  company 
an  employee's  value  is  rated  by  his  earning  capacity. 
His  efficiency  for  the  work  in  hand  is  somewhere 
nearly  proportioned  to  the  work  expected  of  him.  In 
a  municipality  it  too  often  happens  that  a  man's  fit- 
ness for  the  position  he  holds  is  apt  to  be  guaged  by 
his  usefulness  at  election  time.  Patronage  more  than 
efficiency  governs  his  appointment. 

Therefore  it  is  that  public  enterprises  are  so  sel- 
dom economically  managed.  While  the  elected  offi- 
cers may  be  perfectly  honest  in  their  intentions,  and 
do  their  own  work  to  the  best  of  their  ability,  their 
appointees  have  no  such  feelings  but  each  is  intent 
on  feathering  his  nest  before  next  election  day. 

Sometimes  our  City  Halls  have  a  gas  or  electric 
light  plant,  but  it  has  seldom  proved  economical.. 
The  light  being,  as  it  were,  free  is  used  wastefullyy 
and  the  impossibility  of  keeping  the  department  out 
of  politics  is  another  drawback. 

Advocates  of  wholesale  municipal  ownership  are 
no  doubt  honest  in  their  intentions  and  beliefs,  but 
deficient  in  perception  of  economic  facts.  Anything 
tending  to  an  increase  in  salaried  positions  tends 
to  increased  expenditures  and  increased  danger  of 
political  control  or  "bossism."  With  an  enlarge- 
ment in  scope  of  the  Civil  Service  idea,  it  is  possible 
our  municipalities  may  safely  and  economically  en- 
gage in  various  lines  of  business,  but  not  otherwise. 

If  economy  and  cheap  service  are  desired,  wise 
laws  well  enforced  will  serve  everything.  Men  live 
in  communities  for  the  sake  of  advantages  offered  by 
such  association,  and  not  to  become  members  of  joint 
stock  companies ;  therefore  it  is  a  question  if  it  is  not 
an  encroachment  upon  individual  rights  for  a  city  to 
engage  in  business  for  profit.  The  members  of  the 
Council  will  have  their  hands  full  if  the  sewers,  schools, 


—  45  — 

parks,  streets,  police,  fire  departments,  and  the  one 
thousand  and  one  et  ceteras  are  looked  after  properly. 

It  is  always  economical  for  the  municipality  to 
own  all  buildings  it  needs,  as  interest  on  their  value 
will  be  less  than  rent.  But  to  own  buildings  to  rent 
is  bad  because  of  the  employees  required.  It  is  wis- 
est if  a  municipality  owns  buildings  it  does  not  re- 
quire itself,  to  lease  them  as  a  whole. 

Street  sprinkling  is  sometimes  done  by  the  mu- 
nicipality and  sometimes  by  individuals.  The  prac- 
tice is  not  at  all  uniform,  but  it  is  generally  considered 
that  the  work  should  be  done  by  and  paid  for  by  the 
municipality.  During  the  season  the  sprinkler  should 
make  three  rounds  daily  and  one  round  early  on 
Sunday  morning.  The  cost  should  not  exceed  one 
hundred  dollars  per  month  for  each  mile.  It  is  eco- 
nomical for  the  municipality  to  own  the  sprinklers 
and  rent  them  to  men  with  teams  to  do  the  work  by 
contract,  the  water  being  furnished  also  by  the  town 
at  a  certain  price  per  hundred  gallons.  The  reasons 
are  obvious. 

The  subject  of  street  sweeping  is  one  which  be- 
-comes  important  as  the  mileage  of  paved  streets  in- 
creases, and  every  large  city  has  much  valuable  data 
on  the  subject. 

In  St.  Paul  it  cost  last  year  about  $8.67  per  mile 
to  sweep  the  streets.  The  work  is  principally  done 
by  machines,  and  the  refuse  is  shoveled  into  carts 
and  carried  to  dumping  places.  The  men  work  all 
night,  and  around  the  business  centers  the  streets 
are  swept  each  night.  The  principal  paved  streets 
outside  the  business  center  are  swept  twice  a  week, 
and  an  endeavor  is  made  to  clean  the  whole  city  each 
Saturday  night  for  the  comfort  of  Sunday  drivers. 
The  teamsters  furnish  their  own  teams  and  receive 
$3.25  per  day;  shovelers  get  $1.60  per  day,  and  fore- 
men $2.10. 

In  San  Francisco  machine  sweeping  has  been 
the  rule,  and  the  contract  price  has  been  since  July, 
1892,  $16.40  per  mile.  Some  streets  have  been  swept 


—  46  — 

daily,     except    Sundays,    jvhile    others    are    seldom 
touched. 

The  Merchants'  Association  became  dissatisfied 
with  the  manner  in  which  the  work  was  done,  and 
have  this  Summer  conducted  extensive  experiments 
.  in  the  business  portion  of  the  city.  They  have 
given  employment  to  a  great  number  of  men,  and 
the  work  has  thus  been  a  real  charity.  As  a 
result  the  streets  now  look  well  and  the  merchants 
are  moving  to  secure  continuous  service  of  like  nat- 
ure. With  labor  at  $1.25  per  day,  it  is  claimed  that 
the  cost  of  sweeping  a  street  and  keeping  it  clean  all 
day  long  is  $30.00  per  mile.  After  the  street  is  swept 
one  man  can  take  care  of  three  ordinary  blocks.  To 
sweep  a  street  once  each  day  by  hand,  the  cost  is 
$15.00  per  mile.  With  machine  and  hand  labor  com- 
bined, one  daily  round  will  cost  $10.00  per  mile.  This 
city  lias  few  level  streets,  and  therefore  the  above  fig- 
ures may  seem  .high.  Long  stretches  on  slight  grades 
can  be  more  cheaply  done  than  short,  hilly  sections, 
and  a  continuance  of  the  present  experiments  in  a 
larger  territory  will  be  looked  to  with  interest. 

As  a  suggestion  toward  the  solution  of  the  "un- 
employed workingman"  question,  it  might  be  a  good 
plan  for  the  municipality  to  own  all  street  sweeping 
tools  and  machinery  to  let  to  small  contractors.  Have 
the  districts  small,  and  contracts  let  for  short  periods. 
The  unemployed  could  contract  for  the  work  and  use 
the  public  property,  paying  a  small  rental.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  in  this  manner  the  work  could  be  done  at 
extremely  low  rates,  and  the  genuine  workman,  who 
disdains  to  beg,  be  helped.  The  hungry  man  never 
"pools,"  but  if  such  a  thing  does  happen,  and  a  dis- 
position is  manifested  to  run  up  prices,  men  can  be 
hired  by  the  day.  The  sweeping  being  done  at  night 
and  after  business  hours,  gives  the  men  some  oppor- 
tunity to  look  for  work  and  do  odd  jobs.  When  busi- 
ness is  good  and  there  are  few  unemployed,  the  work 
will  be  comparatively  high,  but  it  can  then  be  af- 
forded, and  machine  sweeping  will  be  the  rule.  When 


times  are  hard  contracts  can  be  let  more  cheaply,  as 
there  will  be  keener  competition  and  hand  sweeping 
will  be  the  rule.  As  it  is  then  a  time  when  economy 
is  the  order  of  the  day  the  municipality  will  be  the 
gainer. 

In  regard  to  franchises  or  privileges  for  conduct- 
ing certain  enterprises,  great  care  should  be  exer- 
cised. There  is  evident  each  year  a  stronger  recogni- 
tion of  the  fact  that  franchises  are  oftentimes  ex- 
tremely valuable,  and  the  public  should  get  a  larger 
return  than  heretofore  for  privileges  granted.  When 
an  application  is  received  for  a  franchise  a  competent 
man  should  be  selected  to  make  a  careful  examination 
and  report  upon  the  project  to  ascertain  the  possible 
value.  The  application  and  report  should  be  pub- 
lished, together  with  the  terms  upon  which  the  fran- 
chise will  be  granted,  and  upon  a  certain  day  the 
highest  bidder  will  receive  it,  provided  some  stated 
amount  at  least  is  bid.  Provision  should  be  made  so 
that  if  the  original  applicant  is  overbid,  he  should 
have  the  right  to  offer  ten  per  cent  more  and  get  the 
franchise. 

The  terms  of  the  franchise  should  be  about  as 
follows : 

The  streets  are  public  property,  and  the  right  to 
use  them  for  certain  purposes  does  not  transfer  owner- 
ship; therefore  changes  of  grade,  etc.,  are  still  under 
control  of  the  Public  Officers,  and  an  understanding 
should  be  had  that  the  municipality  shall  pay  no  part 
of  the  expense  of  raising  or  lowering  pipes  or  con- 
duits, or  changing  car  tracks  or  any  other  work  the 
company  may  have  to  do  on  account  of  changes  de- 
sired by  the  people. 

The  limits  within  which  the  company  shall  oper- 
ate should  be  defined  plainly,  and  severe  penalties 
provided  in  event  of  the  territory  not  being  occupied 
within  a  certain  time. 

The  cost  of  public  and  private  service,  and  the 
quality  of  service  prescribed. 


—  48  — 

As  compensation  for  the  privilege  (not  exclusive) 
of  using  the  streets,  the  company  should  pay  from 
five  to  ten  per  cent  of  its  gross  receipts  into  the  treas- 
ury, and  provision  made  that  when  the  company 
makes  a  profit  of  over  six  or  seven  per  cent  on  its 
actual  capital  invested,  the  municipal  treasury  shall 
receive  twenty  per  cent  of  such  increased  profits,  in 
addition  to  the  percentage  on  gross  receipts. 

The  authorities  should  retain  the  right  of  inspec- 
tion of  the  company's  books  and  works  at  all  times. 

The  company  should  deposit  a  guarantee  fund 
or  bond,  equal  to  its  construction  fund,  with  the 
Treasurer,  until  construction  is  finished. 

A  renewal  fund  equal  to  twenty  per  cent  of  the 
invested  capital  should  be  invested  in  bonds  of  the 
municipality  and  kept  on  deposit  with  the  municipal 
authorities. 

Specifications  for  all  work  must  be  approved  by 
the  proper  officers. 

Street  car  companies  should  lay  only  standard 
gauge  tracks,  so  that  vehicles  may  travel  easily  and 
the  space  between  tracks  should  be  well  paved. 
Tracks  in  the  middle  of  a  street  concentrate  travel 
upon  the  sides,  and  the  cost  of  street  maintenance  is 
thereby  increased.  On  macadamized  streets  the  cost 
is  more  than  doubled,  therefore  the  company's  pro- 
portion of  cost  in  street  maintenance  and  improve- 
ments should  be  decided. 

On  street  car  lines  propelled  by  other  than  ani- 
mal power  the  maximum  speed  should  be  prescribed. 

Electric  roads  should  be  required  to  stand  the 
expense  of  all  damage  caused  to  public,  private  or 
corporate  property  by  electrolysis.  A  clause  of  this 
kind  is  better  than  reams  of  specifications  for  con- 
struction. 

Franchises  for  power  and  light  should  be  very 
explicit  as  regards  using  the  streets  and  safety  to  the 
public. 

If  wires  are  permitted  above  ground  there  should 
be  only  one  line  of  poles  on  the  streets ;  owned  by  the 


municipality  and  rented  to  the  various  companies 
using  them. 

Ordinances  regarding  wires  should  be  strict. 
No  dead  wires  should  be  permitted  to  remain,  as 
sometimes  a  loose  end  of  a  dead  wire  may  circuit 
with  a  poorly  insulated  electric  light  wire  and  the  re- 
sults be  disastrous.  Electric  light  wires  should  be 
thoroughly  insulated  and  all  wire  routes  as  parallel 
as  possible  to  diminish  the  liability  of  crossing. 

Finally,  a  franchise  should  be  granted  for  a  cer- 
tain limited  period  with  a  provision  that  in  certain 
contingencies  and  after  a  certain  date  the  municipal- 
ity can  acquire  the  whole  plant  and  appurtenances 
by  purchase  upon  a  fair  basis  of  valuation  to  be  pro- 
vided for  in  the  contract. 

When  the  plant  becomes  public  property  it  should 
be  leased,  under  complete  municipal  control  to  pri- 
vate companies.  The  lease  can  be  bid  for  and  the 
company  offering  the  most  satisfactory  terms  can 
have  it.  These  leases  should  be  for  long  periods. 

In  connection  herewith  it  may  be  stated  that 
there  is  now  a  law  in  California  requiring  all  coun- 
ties, counties  and  cities,  cities  and  towns  to  sell  fran- 
chises to  the  highest  bidder  and  making  it  unlawful 
to  grant  them  otherwise. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BONDS. 


The  time  is  sure  to  come  in  the  history  of  every 
municipality,  when  bonds  will  be  issued  for  some 
work.  The  issue  may  prove  a  blessing  or  a  curse 
and  should  be  carefully  considered  before  undertaken. 

It  is  unwise  to  issue  bonds  for  u  improvements"; 


—  50-- 

the  nature  and  amount  of  said  improvements  to  be 
settled  after  the  issue.  The  issue  should  be  for  a 
specific  purpose.  If  for  any  necessary  work  careful 
surveys  and  estimates  of  cost  should  be  made  and 
everything  as  carefully  done  as  though  contracts 
were  to  be  at  once  let.  The  reports  and  estimates 
should  be  published  and  the  people  given  a  chance  to 
j  udge  of  the  matter.  When  the  bond  election  occurs 
there  can  be  little  doubt  of  the  result. 

Unless  the  municipality  issuing  the  bonds  has 
a  sufficient  financial  rating,  that  is  assessed  valuation; 
and  the  debt  is  kept  well  under,  say  five  per  cent  of 
that  assessed  valuation,  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
negotiate  bonds,  except  to  speculators  at  a  large  dis- 
count. 

The  insufficiency  of  the  security  does  not  oper- 
ate against  the  sale  of  bonds  so  much  as  ill-advised 
action  in  their  issue.  Such  operations  are  often  under- 
taken hastily  and  without  due  care.  Records  are 
scanty  and  a  lack  of  detail  shown  which  affects  seri- 
ously their  security  and  hampers  their  sale.  Bonds 
are  sold  at  a  premium,  at  par  or  below  par.  To  secure 
their  sale  at  par  or  premium,  all  action  taken  in  regard 
to  the  issue  should  be  deliberate  and  the  records  full. 
It  is  better  that  the  records  be  prolix  than  injured  by 
want  of  particulars. 

In  all  large  cities  attorneys  of  recognized  repu- 
tation have  made  a  specialty  in  the  issuance  of  muni- 
cipal bonds  and  follow  that  line  of  practice  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  others,  and  it  is  very  often  cheaper  for 
the  municipality  to  employ  them  than  it  is  to  employ 
attorneys  at  home  who,  from  the  fact  that  local  issues 
of  bonds  are  few  and  far  between,  have  not  the  same 
means  for  keeping  posted  in  that  particular  line  en- 
joyed by  those  situated  in  commercial  centers.  The 
plans  and  estimates  for  the  work  and  the  proceedings 
of  the  Council  should  be  constantly  under  the  guid- 
ance of  the  best  legal  talent,  and  when  the  issue  is  an 
accomplished  fact  it  is  not  likely  the  bonds  will  go 


—  51  — 

begging  or  have  to  be  sold  below  par  on  acconnt 
of  some  small  mistake. 

A  mistake  in  a  bond  issue  has  three  effects:  It 
results  in  increased  expense ;  it  causes  all  securities 
of  the  place  to  be  looked  at  suspiciously,  and  it  holds 
the  Officers  up  to  ridicule.  A  Public  Officer  can 
stand  mud-slinging,  abuse  or  wrongful  criticism,  but 
once  made  a  target  for  ridicule  much  of  his  influence 
is  gone. 

The  issuance  of  bonds  for  long  terms  enables 
them  the  more  readily  to  command  a  premium,  but 
is  conducive  to  extravagance.  The  longer  the  day  of 
reckoning  is  put  off  the  more  apt  people  are  to  bor- 
row. It  is  well  to  remember  that  although  ways  of 
obtaining  money  are  each  day  made  easier,  the  time- 
honored  method  of  going  down  in  the  pocket  to  repay 
the  loan  has  never  been  superseded.  The  old  adage 
about  death  and  the  tax  collector  serves  all  modern 
purposes  and  is  as  true  now  as  it  ever  was. 

In  addition  to  a  long  term  of  payment  being  con- 
ducive to  extravagance  the  interest  account  is  a  tre- 
mendous item.  Not  only  the  interest  on  the  bonds 
is  paid  but  the  interest  on  an  idle  redemption  fund  is 
a  serious  loss. 

Owing  to  the  accumulation  of  loanable  funds  the 
rate  of  interest  is  lowering  year  by  year.  It  seems 
advisable,  therefore,  that  bonds  be  issued  for  no  longer 
terms  than  ten  years,  when  they  can  be  refunded. 
Capitalists  do  not  favor  short  terms,  and  dilate  upon 
the  expense  attendant  upon  a  refunding  issue.  Short 
term  bonds  seldom  command  a  premium,  but  that  is 
a  sort  of  screw  used  to  make  borrowing  common  and 
easy. 

Capitalists  also  favor  bonds  of  large  denomina- 
tions, but  experience  has  shown  that  bonds  of  $25  or 
$50  denominations  are  generally  sold  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  issue  if  not  over  say  $100,000,  and 
thus  the  interest  is  kept  near  home. 

The  theory  of  a  bond  issue  is  this :  It  is  seen 
that  the  expenditure  of  a  certain  sum  of  money  will 


—  52'  — 

produce  certain  beneficial  results.  To  obtain  this 
money  the  party  having  it  is  promised  a  share  in  the 
profits  for  a  certain  length  of  time  for  the  use  of  his 
money.  He  is  not  a  thief  or  a  robber  but  simply  a 
party  in  a  commercial  transaction.  If  he  abuses  his 
opportunities  and  can  manage  to  loan  his  money  for 
a  longer  term  than  is  necessary,  he  displays  business 
shrewdness  more  than  is  possessed  by  his  partners 
for  the  time  being.  The  interest  on  the  money  is 
his  share  of  the  profits,  and  if  a  plan  can  be  devised 
to  keep  the  interest  close  at  home  with  the  rest  of 
the  money,  or  in  other  words  secure  a  resident  part- 
ner, the  community  is  a  gainer. 

In  a  settled  community  of  slow  growth  there  is 
no  doubt  that  direct  taxation  is  the  best  method  of 
paying  for  improvements.  People's  needs  increase 
faster,  however,  than  their  means,  and  in  a  rapidly 
growing  place  it  is  not  likely  that  anything  will  be 
found  to  supplant  bonds. 

The  plan  of  redemption  should  be  such  that  the 
people  will  alwa}^s  feel  it  slightly  and  not  with  the 
idea  that  their  descendants  will  pay.  This  checks 
extravagance  and  encourages  thrift.  As  the  years 
go  on  it  will  be  felt  less  owing  to  increased  population 
and  value  of  property  and  decreased  assessment  on, 
each  hundred  dollars'  valuation. 

As  to  sale  of  bonds.  Several  brokers  invit- 
ing bids  will  hurt  their  sale.  The  City  Treasurer 
alone  should  attend  to  the  matter  and  hawking  them 
over  the  country  should  not  be  permitted.  A  trip  to 
the  money  market  with  a  pocket  full  of  securities  to 
negotiate  for  expenses  while  endeavoring  to  sell  the 
issue  is  a  reprehensible  practice,  and  yet  it  has  been 
done. 

It  is  so  common  to  issue  bonds  hastily  and  with- 
out proper  consideration  that  it  is  hoped  the  forego- 
ing remarks  will  be  of  some  value  in  preventing  mis- 
takes. 

There  are  many  firms  which  deal  exclusivelyrin 
such  securities,  and  from  them  much  valuable  advice 


—  53  — 

may  frequently  be  secured.  It  is  to  be  remembered, 
however,  that  such  advice  is  given  in  the  interest 
principally  of  men  who  demand  a  safe  investment. 

Any  large,  established  Bond  House  in  the  coun- 
try will  cheerfully  answer  inquiries  as  to  what  they 
consider  the  best  way  of  making  any  particular  issue 
of  bonds,  and  it  would  be  well  for  municipalities,  be- 
fore determining  in  what  denominations  and  for  what 
time  to  issue,  to  ascertain  what  the  market  is  by 
writing  to  some  house  or  houses  dealing  in  bonds. 
They  need  not  necessarily  follow  the  advice  they 
get,  but  generally  they  can  profit  some  by  obtaining 
.suggestions  of  a  house  which  follows  the  market 
very  closely  and  which  knows  the  style  of  bond 
which  is  best  adapted  for  the  then  existing  market. 

It  is  well  to  obtain  all  the  information  possible 
from  reliable  sources  before  taking  any  move.  Such 
information  should  be  regarded  as  an  aid  to  judg- 
ment, and  not  allowed  to  pervert  it. 

With  all  the  information  obtainable  in  their 
hands  the  committee  having  the  matter  in  charge 
are  prepared  to  co-operate  with  the  legal  adviser. 
Under  his  direction  the  issue  can  be  arranged  and 
the  people  be  well  satisfied  with  the  result. 

Getting  away  from  bonds  and  to  the  subject  of 
easy  payment  of  indebtedness,  or  ingenious  finan- 
ciering, the  following  story  from  the  Scientific  Ameri- 
can of  December  4,  1886,  might  not  be  out  of  place. 
The  people  of  Guernsey  needed  a  meat  market  but 
had  no  money  to  build  it.  After  due  consideration 
it  was  decided  to  issue  ^4,000  secured  on  "the  whole 
of  the  property  on  the  island,  said  to  be  worth  four 
millions."  A  provision  was  introduced  making  the 
notes  worthless  outside  of  Guernsey,  and  so  they 
were  never  exported.  They  were  in  denominations 
of  one  pound  and  numbered  from  i  to  4,000.  They 
bore  no  interest  and  circulated  as  money.  With 
them  the  contractor  was  paid  and  he  paid  for  labor 
and  material  with  them.  Tradesmen  took  them  for 
goods,  landlords  for  rent  and  the  authorities  for  taxes. 


When  the  market  was  completed  it  was  leased  for 
ten  years  at  an  annual  rental  of  ^400.  Each  year 
ten  per  cent  of  the  notes  were  redeemed,  beginning 
with  number  one,  and  at  the  end  of  ten  years  the 
notes  had  disappeared  from  circulation.  The  people 
had  their  market  without  any  inhabitant  having  paid 
one  farthing  in  taxes,  and  ever  since  that  time  it  has 
been  a  source  of  large  revenue  to  the  State. 


UHIVERSITY 


Established  in  \e\v  York  1834. 


(established  in  San  Francisco 


J.  C.  SALA, 


Kll<-4-4>MMOr    tO    J0111S     HO  \«    II. 


VASIKAC-H  RER  (>K 


Mathematical  and  Nautical  Instruments. 


HK,LI>  AND  OFKICK    INSTKl'MKNTS   I-OR  CIVIL. 

MIMNd.    IRRIGATION   AM)   HVDKAl'LIC 

1C \C.I\KKRS  AND  SL'RYKYOkS. 


MATERIALS 

FOR 

OFFICE  WORK 

SUPPLIED. 


INSTRUMENTS 

I.XAMINK1». 

REPAIRED  and 

( 'arefully  Adjusted. 


429  Montgomery  Street, 


S.   \V.   (.'i>r.   SuiTainento   St 


SAX  FIJANCISCO,  CAL 


Road  Machinery. 

A  Complete  liine  of  Latent  Improved  Machinery  for  Constructing, 
«.  radium,  and  Cleaning  Natural  and  Paved  Roads  and  Streets. 


Rock  Crushers,  Street  Sweepers  and  Sprinklers,  Road  Rollers, 
Scrapers,  New  Era  Graders,  etc. 

FREMONT  AND   MIS-ION  STREETS, 

8AN   FRANCE  C»,   CAL. 


H.  P.  GREGORY  &  CO., 


GLADDING,  McBEAN  &  Co. 


MANUFACTURERS 


ARCHITECTURAL  TERRA  COTTA 

Hollow  Tile  Fire  Proofing 

VITRIFIED  SALT  GLAZED  SEWER  PIPE 

TERRA  COTTA  CHIMNEY  PIPE  AND  TOPS 
Roman   Brick,  Fire  Brick,  Tile  and  Clay 

FARMER'S  DRAIN  TILE,  ETC, 


SAN  FRANCISCO  OFFICE: 


1358  & 


MANUFACTORY: 


MARKET  ST.  LINCOLN,  PLACER  CO.  CAL 


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